Onno's Blog

Today saw one of my favorite rides on the club schedule: the Can-Yan Tour from Canandaigua to Penn Yan, 50 miles of hilly happiness. Even the start time is pleasant, 10am instead of 9am.

Even so I am a little slow to get going and drive into the parking lot with 15 minutes to spare. Ed, the leader for this ride, already stands there when I climb out of the car. We chat a bit about the merits of working for a large company again. We observe that it is rather windy. The western wind will make it easy to get to Penn Yan, coming back will be a different matter it looks like. I get the bike out of the car, put the front wheel in, put the Garmin on the handlebars, hang the helmet off one of the bends, all part of the well-exercised routine. Next is pumping up the tires. I rotate the rear tire to find the valve and “oh, that’s not good.” I see a threadbare spot, checking the rest of the tire finds two more of those. The front tire is a little better but not much. For a moment I consider risking it but then common sense sets in. It’s 50 miles through mostly empty countryside, if the tire goes it can’t be repaired during the ride. “@%$%$##!!”, I mutter to myself. I thought yesterday to buy new tires, followed by another thought “nah, I’ll do it next week.” Right.

Well, it is what it is. I wander over to Eddie, he must know if there’s a bike shop in town. There is, RV&E Bikes is even quite close by. I put everything back in the car off to check in the inventory of the store. It’s pretty good and they have the tires I like and would have bought the day before: Specialized All Condition. I have them on Maximilian, the red Trek, and like them much. Back to the parking lot to put the new tires on. The group of course is long gone. Ed suggested I ride it in reverse and then back with the group but I don’t like that. I want to ride it in the way it was intended.

Half an hour late I am rolling. The wind notwithstanding it is lovely weather, the first warm weather ride of the season. I don’t mind much that I missed the group. I often like riding by myself. I can ride the pace I want, I can look around, I can sing songs in my head. The same four songs (Haus am See, Watching the wheels, Shelter from the storm, We take care of our own) have been stuck in my head for a few weeks now and I mix them into a medley. With the mostly tailwind the stretch to Penn Yan will go quickly and easily. I decide to skip the normal break in Penn Yan to try to make the gap smaller with the main group.

I see a few Amish farmworkers on their bikes and we nod politely to each other as we pass. No buggies yet. Soon Penn Yan is there. I kept a quick but relaxed pace, I’m all good with water and energy bars and so I ride on. After Penn Yan it is a straight road along Keuka Lake for a mile or two then a right turn up Wager Hill Road. This thing is steep and drags on a bit. I have done that climb three times I believe. The first was a struggle, the other times it was relatively easy. A few hundred meters ahead of me is a cyclist in a gray shirt. I am just a little too far away to determine who it is by his riding style. Right after the turn the climb starts and it is immediately steep. Click, click, click, click, click go the derailleurs. The first click by the front derailleur, the others by the rear one to land in the lowest gear within 50 meters. I see the other rider zigzag a bit but he’s going steadily up still. I am getting tired very quickly. There is the spot where it gets a tiny bit less steep and then picks up again. There I stand on the pedals but I don’t find any rhythm at all and need to sit in the saddle again within a few meters. Not good. I drag on a little more but there is no energy. On the right is a driveway to a mobile home. I yank on the handlebars and stop. (ahh, the advantage of riding by yourself, one can stop on a climb and nobody will ever know)

After a minute of trying to get my breathing under control I walk the remaining bit of the steep part then get back on and ride the climb out. My legs hurt for the next 6 miles or so. During the downhill on Sherman Hollow Road I start to feel better again, then a right and a left and I get to the gradual climb on Route 264. There’s another rider, in very bright yellow, ahead of me. I steadily gain on him and see that it is Uncle Jules. Jules asks “Can you see me now?”. Yes, that shirt together with the loud green shoes, yes, I noticed. Just before the right turn onto Middle Road – which I always miss so I u-turn around – I catch up with Bob Lechner. He says he’s going to wait for Jules. The beginning of Middle Road consists of a steep bump – one that you don’t really notice when you’re riding well, but I do now. From here it is mainly north till the left turn onto Route 18. While this is wide open country the wind isn’t much of a bother. Once you get to that junction the ride is largely done: a lovely downhill with wide turns to the lake and then a mile or so through a housing area back to the parking lot.

I wonder how far behind the group I am. I didn’t ride particular fast, my average probably a bit lower than them, but I skipped the stop in Penn Yan so maybe gained 10 minutes or so? I wonder how many will still be in the parking lot. I swish left then right around Starbucks (another reason I like this ride) and look ahead to where we’re all parked. Hmm, not many familiar cars there, I see Gary just pulling out in his Prius. Bummer, no apres cycling talk. Oh well, still had fun and a few riders are behind me still to come in.

I put the bike back in the car, happily drink my Naked protein drink, take off the cycling shoes (ahhh!). I look up and Cindy magically appeared. After the ride she drove to Wegmans to get some beers. I nominate her for Best Cycling Friend Everrr. Jules gets back too. Bob came in close behind me. We lean against the cars, sip our beers, make small talk and ponder why the club scheduled a 95 mile ride starting at 10:30am tomorrow, Mother’s Day.

Except for the hardish wind it was a gorgeous day for a bike ride. Starting from Ionia (sort of, the start location was really just a road junction somewhere near Ionia) to Honeoye then up the hill on Curtis Road followed by a few miles of cruising before climbing up Luykenbach hill. A bit of dirt road to get to the overlook then all the way down to Honeoye, up Route 20A and with some zigzagging back to Ionia (or rather that road junction).

There was a good crowd; fast people, not as fast as that people, short people, tall ones too. During the ride differing groups formed in part due to some missed turns by several of the riders. I have renewed my yearly good intention to take pictures during rides: see the gallery. And even took some video that you find below.

For me the ride represented varying levels of comfort and enjoyment. The first stretch to Honeoye went quite nicely, the stretches into the wind not bothering me much. The climb up Curtis Road I took in a steady pace – that was good too. Bit further on was a downhill that went well until I was almost at the bottom when the bike went into a shimmy. While exciting, not much fun. In getting the bike back under control I veered over the yellow lines but luckily there was no traffic. One moment I thought I would acquaint myself with the tarmac but I kept the rubber where i belongs – on the downside. It dented my confidence a bit for the downhills still to come. Luykenbach Hill was much easier (ehh not as hard) as I expected. The road surface was a lot better than previous years. The overlook was beautiful with this weather. The coffee back in Honeoye was delicious, baby! The climb up 20A went well for the first half and then I ran out of steam. The remainder of the ride Cindy and I rode together and that is just fun. I was glad to be rolling back to the car. The combination of the head wind on the way back and the hills made it a hard workout.

Fast Friends scaling Luykenbach Hill:

The first club ride was yesterday, the traditional hike along Whalen, Scribner, back up Browncroft. Just 14 miles but sometimes that’s an enormous distance after a long winter. This time of course we are still waiting for winter to start. Today was the Penfield-Walworth ride, advertised as 28 miles but in reality 34. The extra six miles are courtesy of the club included in your membership.

I like the preparation for a club ride, either in the morning or if the ride starts early, the evening before. There is a certain Zen-like quality to gathering the drink bottles, filling the little bottle with Hammer gel, deciding how many energy bars to bring and which flavors, checking that the Garmin is charged, print the map, putting the cycling clothing ready to wear on the chair in my bedroom. This time of the season, and again at the end, the weather can be in that zone of temperature that is hard to guess how much to wear. Two layers and a windbreaker? A hat or just a headband? Gloves? In the morning before the ride I always go outside to measure. Need to throw the catlitter in the dumper anyways.

Yesterday it was cold but quite sunny. Th weather forecast gave a chill factor of a few degrees below freezing. But the short walk outside didn’t feel that cold: two layers plus wind jacket plus gloves. Today it was very sunny and temperatures around 50 but more wind: one layer plus wind jacket, no gloves.

Before yesterday my last ride was on February 5th. Clearly the atmospheric circumstances were different. The Garmin Edge uses barometric pressure to calculate altitude. After switching it on, it calibrates for a bit and then settles on the right altitude (plus or minus a few feet). When the circumstances are quite different from the previous ride then this can take a while but often it catches on after 15 minutes or so. Not yesterday. As you can see from the picture we were only briefly on dry land and for most of the ride well under sea level. Webster is about 300 feet above sea level… The altitude profile also shows a few more hills than I remember from the ride.

The season opener always starts very calmly at a pace of 10-12 miles or so. Until the climb up Blossom Road and then things pick up. They did now too. After the turn onto Scribner three of us had pulled the group so much apart that Otto could be heard saying: “Let’s slowdown and let Paul catch up.” Shock! Horror! We dropped Paul? What kind of cycling season is this going to be?

With riding to and fro the start my mileage was 24 miles. Small change you keep in your car for tolls once the season is well underway but my legs were tired and I was pleased to be back home for the post-ride opportunity for a little nap with the cats.

This morning my legs felt quite good. I could feel yesterday’s ride but no real stiffness. I rode to the start at the high school in Penfield. A large group was there, about 30 cyclists or so. This ride’s route is tricky and not one of favorites. Five Mile Road at the start of the ride is a bit busy and requires extra caution with everybody still together. We’re not as diligent about this single file stuff as we should be. But after the right turn onto Whalen and then a short distance further the left hander to Jackson we are out of the way of traffic and on quiet country roads until the return leg after going through the Walworth village. The official route takes us along Route 441 which is busy with heavy traffic, has narrow shoulders with putholes and debris. We took the scenic route back via West-Walroth and Sweet Corners Road. My, what are the two climbs on Sweet Corners steep when on the second club ride of the year! On the first I was crawling along in the lowest gear.

After the smalltalk in the parking lot after the ride Otto and I rode back together. Otto slipping in a few extra miles by going around the bay back to Irondequiot.

Back home I delighted the cats by opening the balcony door and giving them their first chance of fresh air and stare at birds and people outside for the first time in months. It’s barely mid-March. I am still convinced we’re going to get a few nice snow storms. But not this week according to the forecast.

Today Dave suggested to do an alternate treatment of the scheduled club ride. Instead of starting at 8am, we start at 9. And instead of starting in Leroy, we leave from his house in Chili. A savings of 1 1/2 hours of sleep. You don’t come across such deals too often.

Bob, Dr Bill and Robert (?) also gather at Chateau Sorrel. Dave makes sure the cars were parked such that Martha could still park in the garage. The plan is to ride to Leroy via Oatka Trail, pick up Sara and Billy along the way and then hike along the club ride route from there.

We roll out and bike along at a quick but decent pace. A few miles before getting to Oatka Trail Dave and I are riding side by side. A car comes up behind us and hooks loudly with the driver making throw-away gestures as h passes us. This does not suit Dave. The always benign and soft-spoken Mr Lamb makes hand gestures back at the driver and utters words that don’t appear in my copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary nor in my American Heritage Dictionary – I just checked both to be sure. We are all shocked.

Luckily we come upon the start of Oatka Trail and gather the Ture family. The road is still half in the shade which is quite pleasant. I love how it meanders through the trees and the farmland. At the end we turn left for what can only be the climb up Circular Hill. It’s a little steep at start but then evens out meaning that you can stomp up it at a good speed. Billy knows this and spins away right at the bottom. Eventually we catch up with him but only because he eases up on his pace. At the turn onto Route 5 we wait for the group to re-form. Sara is not feeling too well and it appears her bike is not feeling hot either. It makes funny noises. It takes us most of the ride to figure out the cause. The wheel skimping the brake? No. Broken or loose spokes? No. Bottom bracket needs work? No, it’s the cassette. A few of the gears have wiggle room.

At the convenience store in Leroy I remember the yummy peanut butter crackers Cindy brought to our ride in Ellicottville. They have them here too! Together with the very black coffee it makes a lovely little second breakfast. From here the plan is to follow the club ride route which goes around Silver Springs Lake. We speed up and down Bethany Road. During one of those speeding down moments we almost miss our turn and need to give the brakes a bit of a workout. That left turn is following by a little bump of a hill and the junction with Route 19. Some discussion ensues and the group wisdom rules that we turn right onto 19. A few miles further we come upon a village, Wyoming, that we didn’t really expect there. We stop at the village square. It has a bench and a soda machine. Bob, Dave, Robert, and also Dr Bill joins in, stare hard at the maps (three copies of the same one) to figure out where we are, how we got here and what next? Eventually it is determined that we are too far west. Got to be happy that Clark and Lewis never thought that otherwise this fine country would have been half the size it’s now.

We loop around making our way back to Leroy. Just before this town Wayne joins us from a side road. Since his accident Wayne is not much into social riding anymore. So he says “hi!” and he says “bye!”. We get back to the same store we stopped at in the morning. This time it is time for Vitamin water and yes more peanut butter crackers. We huddle around a gas pump because that’s where the shade is. From here we enter Oatka Trail at the other end not going all the way but making a left where we say bye to Sara and Billy who take the way back to Rush. Robert clearly had something nice to drink at our last stop. He’s feeling feisty, does not pulls at the front and comes by to pick up the pace whenever we let it slip. Bob and Dave zigzag us through the bowels of Churchville and Chili back to our starting point. One of the neighborhoods we zigzagged through seemed to have one big garage sale going on.

Back at Dave’s house we see that Martha did get her car back in the garage past ours. We hang there for a little. Dave hotfooting on the blacktop which seems rather hot to stand/walk on without shoes.

We did 80 miles at 19.1 mph.

The cycling season has started. Actually it started a few weeks ago because the RBC schedule said it did.

I’ve done 6 rides so far most of them windy and chilly. Although the rides yesterday and today were much warmer than those a week ago. Having been grounded for two months with a sprained ankle after an attempt at cross country ski, and not having done much exercise for the few months before that, I’m only slowly getting back in shape. For the first time ever I gained weight this winter and had to loosen the belt a notch to keep things comfortable. Embarrassing.

But, we’re back riding!

Yesterday was RBC’s Two Park Tour ride (aka number 123), a favorite of mine because it was the second ride I did with the club after moving here. And everybody remembers their second! I like it because it can be a fast ride, it has some hills and some descents, it goes over quiet roads. Yesterday the wind was blowing hard from the west meaning that the first half of the ride would be work but the turning point near Avon was a blast. Wind in the back and rolling hills with stretches of false flat in the good direction. Around 20 people showed up for the ride which is a good number early in the season. Almost immediately after the start I decided to let the fast friends go (well, not much of a decision to be honest, they were going too fast) but after a few miles we settled with a group of 4 or 5 riders.

Today the route took us the other way around. The wind was a bit less but still very present and towards the end the two steep climbs up Stony Brook waited for us. While my legs were pretty tired after the ride yesterday, I felt pretty good today. While I ended up behind the fast group early on due to the need to take off my wind jacket, I managed to close the gap. That gave me a 19.2 mph average for the first half hour, something I knew I couldn’t sustain. Shortly after rejoining the group we came upon some short hills and I swung off the back. What I did notice while in the group that Gary “I’m going to take it easy today” was riding ahead of the group. Such certainties make one smile.

In the short season so far many of the Fast Friends have made appearances. Uncle Jules has been riding well, Spinning Ginn put in valiant efforts. Cold Hands Tom rode well last Saturday on the loop through Bristol and Honeoye. He wore inner gloves and his motorcycle gloves and still had cold hands. How is that possible!? The Pink man rides strong, of course. Saying things like “I brought my slow bike”, as if that makes a difference. Miss Giggles, of whom it is rumored that she does own a bike with gears, has so far preferred to conquer Parrish, Stony Brook and other steep climbs on her single speed. The Honorable Donna and Don managed to both ride today with Donna having the right cleats. Sara rides no matter what, feeling sick or having sore knees, and will still make sure she gets to the top of that hill before you, thank you. Engineman Otto has been making sure to get the miles in, already riding to the rides. And Mark seems to have a had a good winter, lost weight, looking good. Even Pencil Legs Dwight was there today. He’s possibly the only cyclist with thinner legs than I have.

Some of us are still slowly awakening from hibernation. We have not yet spotted Edward The Fast, welcomed Dr Bill to a ride, seen Dennis (both of them), nor Wayne (O Wayne, were art thou?). But I’m sure they’ll come and play with us the next weekend!

The new version of my bike ride scheduling iPhone app, Club Rides, is up in the iTunes App Store.

It has native support for both iPhone and iPad. In addition to the new schedule for 2011 there are several other enhancements:
- Faster launch time
- Displays the club’s RSS feed for club news
- Share your favorite rides via email (facebook and twitter to come in an update)
- Send the rides you plan to do directly to your calendar
- Tap the ride leader’s phone number to call

To enable posting your rides to the calendar on your device, tap the Settings icon in the top right corner of the screen and select which calendar you want to use.

On iPhone to show a map with the starting location of the ride, tap the starting location in the ride view.

Club Rides comes preloaded with Rochester Bicycling Club’s schedule. It supports other clubs, like Northern California’s Western Wheelers, as well. And it can support your club by using the customization guide. If you like to make Club Rides applicable to your cycling or hiking club then I would be happy to assist you.

(this post is a little late – couldn’t log in for days – called in my host’s customer support and lunarpages came through with flying colors – thanks guys!)

Fast Friend Dave proposed a reru of the Tour de Cure route for today with a decision point at Lakeville whether or not to do the loop around the lake. Sara suggested she and Billy would pick up the group near Rush. I liked that idea shorting the ride to something less than a century so I also opted to start the ride from that meeting point. Sara and Bill kindly offered their driveway for parking so we could ride there together. I wasn’t too sure about the distance – my last ride was a month ago – and so I had to watch the pace and going around Conesus Lake was certainly a no-no. That would still make it a 60-65 mile ride.

Yesterday morning I went down to the basement to get the road bike to bring to the store for repair, take the Bike Friday out the suitcase and put it together for the ride. On that last ride a month ago the front derailleur got stuck on the small ring. For fun I tried the handle, and my, the bike magically healed itself! The bike shifted back and forth between the two rings just fine. Odd. Oh well, riding on the proper road bike then!

Got to Mr and Mrs T’s place in Rush. Billy was riding circles on the driveway. He got a brand new bike, it arrived yesterday and he’s adjusting tit to his fit! So exciting, a new ride! It will be a long winter though until it can be seriously ridden. Before riding off they let their Golden Retrievers out to pee and so Cooper and Stella introduced themselves to me in the happy way only dogs can; but of course after first some proper precautionary barking at the stranger.

It’s about 5 miles to the meeting point with the rest of the group and we take it easy. I ask Billy about his bike (so shiny! look at those sprockets!). It’s a titanium frame from a small bike factory in Tennessee. He asks how old my bike is:
“About ten years now, I think.”
“You need a new bike then! I buy a new one every 2 or 3 years. You’re way overdue.”
Bill is a wise man.

We’re a little early, the other group also had a flat so we have some time at the junction before they’ll arrive. It’s bright sunny, no wind, very pleasant to just hang out there and bask. Mid-November, this is not going to happen much more. Pity though there’s no Starbucks on this corner. The others arrive. Bob brought two new Fast Friends, Patrick and somebody else. I’m so bad with names and I must admit I don’t know now which of the two is Pat… They have nice time trial bikes, especially the older’s Trek (I shall call him Patrick). I don’t really like it when there are TT bikes in a group ride. They handle and respond differently than road bikes and so require extra attention by the rest. Pat seems very solid on his but his friend is a little wobbly. Off we go.

Dr Bill is in the group too. Haven’t seen him in a long time. I move up next to him to chat. I ask if he’s been riding much. Not so much, work and stuff, but yeah not bad. Me?
“This is my first ride in a month.”
“And you chose a century?”
“Well, yeah, I mean, how hard can this be?”

Some miles further we’re moving through some rolling hills. I got dropped at first but manage my way back to the group. After a turn Mark has pulled away a bit. Dr Bill increases his pace to stay in touch, I latch on to his wheel, staring at his back tire not letting any light in between. When we get over the roller Dave asks Mark to ease up a bit so that we don’t drop folks. Dr Bill asks Mark if he’s wearing a heart rate monitor:
“Yes.”
“Keep it under a hundred then.”

We ride through a small village (Restof?) a few miles before Geneseo where we’ve decided to stop for a break. It rolls down here for a mile or so, my momentum takes me forward and I pull the group for a bit until first Patrick and then Billy move past. In Geneseo we’ll make a left turn up the hill to the college. The last half mile before that on the main road it starts to incline just a bit (2 maybe 3%) and already there I drop off the back. The climb up the college goes slowly, slowly. Not much of power to detect in the legs with just two rides in the last months. I get to the convenience store stumbling inside for the much needed hot caffeine injection and a cinnamon roll. We discuss who wants to ride how far. To Lakeville, around the lake, turn before Lakeville? Sara and Billy say they want to turn at Avon, go back to Rush from there (yes!). This makes it about a 45 mile ride. Perfect, me thinks.

Rolling out of Geneseo first Bob then Dave take the lead. We’re going about 19-20 mph. I’m pretty sure everybody thinks this a casual pace but I am only just hanging on towards the back of the group. At some point I’m riding behind Bob in the middle of the group. He moves up to take the lead, I follow in his wheel. Protocol requires me to take over from him next. Not that I am looking forward to that but the closer to the front you ride, the more even the pace is, an even pace is much easier with rapidly tiring legs. And Bob’s pace is always very even. Not slow, just very steady. Sadly someone can’t maintain her patience with this perfectly fast-ish pace and comes by rolling past picking up the pace a couple of miles. Yes, Sara got bored. I’m hanging on for dear life. Just before Avon the road goes up and I fling off the back. The legs are done. I’m quickly moving down the gears. In Avon Sara, Bill and I turn left while the others continue their march on Lakeville.

It’s only 6 miles or so back to the start. My two companions are very patient with me while they drag me back, going about 15mph (that may be optimistic actually). The last climb takes us up their driveway. We’re done!

Billy opens the door, and Stella and Cooper come running out. They have a lovely big front and back yard giving the dogs plenty space to run around, chase after their balls. Wise strategy to wear down the dogs before apres cycling nap time! We chat for a little bit but I want to get going before my legs get too stiff.

It was a great ride with fabulous weather for November. But maybe, maybe I should ride more often than once a month.

(you should read this at the speed it was typed: slowly)

After a hiatus of about four weeks, today at last I had time to ride the bicycle again. The RBC’s schedule featured a 54 mil ride from Geneseo called Killer Hill. Very appropriate for a glorious return to turning the pedals! A 9:00 am start called for the alarm to be set to 6:45 am. I manage to get out of the bed after hitting the snooze button only twice. To the kitchen to make coffee, then check news, email, facebook, print the route map. Breakfast is yoghurt with oatmeal. Then it is time to change into the cycling uniform, fill the water bottles and pack up the bag. Down to the basement storage to retrieve the bicycle, helmet and shoes. Just as I am halfway back up the stairs with the bicycle over the shoulder, my downstairs neighbor kindly opens the hallway door. Great timing! Thanks Jimmy!

I put it all in the car then quickly back upstairs to give Squeak her shot, get the coffee mug and I’m ready for the drive to Geneseo which takes about 35 minutes. The Grateful Dead plays lllOUDLY on the stereo singing of important matters such as a monkey at the controls of a train and that your cards aint worth a dime if you don’t lay em down. Right at the traffic light to turn into the Wegmans parking lot from where our rides start I pull up behind Steve and Cathy.

A fair group is assembling. Not only Steve and Cathy give act de présence after their Switzerland and France vacation but also Gary back from his mini tour de France. When everybody is ready we roll out towards Reservoir Road. While 54 miles isn’t an epic distance I will have to pace myself to keep this on the fun side. There are four main climbs (Springwater, Vista, Coffee Hill and Groveland). Vista and Coffee I haven’t done before but know that they’re the hardest of the four. A fast group very quickly forms with Gary, Bill, Steve, Bobbie and a few more. Our group (Richard, Joel, Jules, Tom, Bruce) follows at a more mature pace. Richard grew up just outside Dansville in which direction we’re heading and entertains us with stories and anecdotes of the area.

Just after the hamlet of Sparta the first climb up Springwater road is before us. Richard and another rider grind heavily through the gears and fall back. About halfway Joel comes up besides me and we climb up together. We gather up Ginn who fell back from the first group, Jeff is just a little further up.

“This used to be easier,” I say to Ginn. “This was never easy,” he responds. Good point.

We’re now on Reed Corners road which is a lovely winding and mostly downward road. Downward of course means upward in the near future. After a left on Depot and a left on Vista this is so. On the map Vista looked fairly short. Up to the second sharp turn it’s certainly steep but nothing too disconcerting. One look up coming through that second turn puts the matter firmly to rest: a vertical wall awaits me. Tching goes the chain onto the largest sprocket and five meters further I’m up out of the saddle. Four, five hunderd meter further it flattens a bit which is code for “13% instead of 19%.” After which it picks up again. I am breathing like a vacuum cleaner. Joel passes me, doesn’t seem too stressed.

A few miles past the rest stop at Dansville awaits Coffee Hill. I’m not too sure about that one, legs and lungs still hurt. In the village I missed a traffic light so I am at the back of the group. At the start of this hill there’s an option to turn right skipping the climb, catching up with the route further on. This is quite appealing. Surely someone else will think still too and I’ll just follow them! I watch the group ahead of me, Bruce goes straight, Tom goes straight, Jeff goes straight. Richard. Richard will turn. No, goes straight. Ginn then? No, straight up too. Jules, surely my pal Jules will turn right and save us both! Alas. Darn, now I have to do that climb too.

It turns out to be way easier than Vista. It’s steep in the beginning but then just grinds on for two miles or so. After the summit we descend for about half a mile, come to a roadblock. Bridge is closed up ahead. We have to go back up the hill then right, right again. I trust this extra climb comes out of our club membership fees?

This is a roughly flat section till we get to Groveland. Bruce and Joel kindly keep looking back, wanting me to latch on. But while the climbing goes quite well, I have to pace myself in between to cover up for the lack of endurance. Eventually I do catch up. Bruce and I chat a while about BikeJournal.com, Garmin Connect (it sucks: a technical term indicating low quality and entertainment value). Bruce found a new one: RideWithGPS.com. One reason why Garmin Connect uh well sucks, is that after they bought Motionbased.com (which didn’t uh well suck), they tried to convince that development team to relocate from Sausolito, CA to Kansas. That, apparently, didn’t go over so well.

I ride up Groveland with relative ease. From here it’s about 8 or 9 miles back to base. I am enjoying the wonderfully tired feeling in my legs. Sometimes when you’ve been riding well the muscles hurt in such a good way.

Back in the parking lot some of us gather where Joel and Bruce parked. Joel has his folding chair out, gets another one for Bruce. I lean against Bruce’s car. We smalltalk. Then we notice that Bruce has a new bike! He gets up to talk about, points out important elements of the bicycle. I listen but I eye the now free chair as well. Would it be impolite to just sit down? No, that’s not nice. But he’s still talking about the bike. Others ask him questions. I glance again at the chair. More questions, more Bruce explaining and pointing. That’s it, I’m sitting down. His legs are still young. New, light bike, he’s fine. Oh, that chair is nice. Joel is now my favorite club member.

In my previous post I wrote about assisting with the Quadzilla bike race.

A couple of the riders blogged too. To read about the event from a participant’s perspective:

• Leslie: http://andrewholton.blogspot.com/2010/08/quadzilla-400.html
• Jud: http://www.njrando.com/blog/?p=133

Oh and I can report that Dennis did indeed break the record!!

Quadzilla has its own web site: http://www.quadzilla.us/

On Saturday I helped out with the Quadzilla bike race: a 400 mile ride from Ithaca, NY circumnavigating all the finger lakes which riders need to complete in 40 hours. Tough? Nah, as Mark Frank the organizer says: “Anyone can do 400 miles at 10 mph.” Right. Sure.

I was stationed at the Geneseo rest stop together with Bonnie. This was the half way point. Riders came here by way of Letchworth Park, continued on from here to Canandaigua and then to the sleep stop in Auburn. Our duties? Basically try to do whatever we could to make life a little more comfortable for the riders.

To paint the picture: The race started at 5am Saturday morning in Ithaca. We set up our stop at 5:30pm and saw the first two riders roll in just after 6pm. They were already 13 hours underway with still 210 miles to go having done already many of our favorite hard climbs like Gannett, Coffee Hill, Groveland and many more. From our stop to Auburn – roughly 80 miles – were mainly rolling hills with then the hard and steep stuff on the 140 mil stretch back to Ithaca. This weekend there was a hard southernly wind and many of the riders suffered it badly.

Dennis and Henrik were the first to come through our stop. Dennis’ wife Sherrie (sp?) was crewing for him. She was uncertain if Dennis would want to switch to his night bike or wait till Canandaigua. Should she get it out of the car and ready? But if he didn’t want it it would be trouble for nothing. But I said if you don’t then you’ll see he’ll want it. So she got it all ready for him before he got there and yes, he did want to switch bikes. Dennis was not looking good, a bit dehydrated. Henrik looked like he was just on a quick ride before breakfast. That difference would impress me during the night: some looked disheveled after 200 miles (I certainly would) and others like they’re just on their way to Starbucks for the morning coffee.

Dennis was going for the course record. I hope he made it! But as of my writing this, results have not come through yet. Fingers crossed!!

Two hours after this duo Marcel came through. A soft-spoken introvert French-Canadian from Quebec. He appeared in great shape. I saw him many hours later at 3am at the sleep stop at Auburn where he had showered, changed clothing and got ready to depart for the next stretch. The sleep stop is a bit of a misnomer I got the impression. I think most riders stop there relatively briefly, certainly not long enough for any good nap time.

Just after Marcel left, Michelle rolled in. She had back problems and getting off the bicycle was a bit of an operation. But after some time in one of our folding chairs she was giggling away again and I have developed the theory that if Michelle is giggling then all is well. While Michelle was at our stop three more cyclists arrived giving Michelle company to ride with.

Around 10:30pm if I remember correctly Mark biked into the park where our rest stop was, our beloved organizer!! He hadn’t done much riding this year and wasn’t sure beforehand how far he would get but he made it halfway! He looked tired though, happily sinking down in a chair. I gave him the Monster soda can from our cooler. When I picked up the supplies for our stop from Mark on Thursday evening I noticed there were many cola and s-up cans but only one Monster making me think this one was for him. Karen, Mark’s wife, arrived with the pickup truck a little later. Bonnie and I were sure that Mark would stay here, not ride on. But after some wife and husband talk Mark summoned his steed and bravely rode on into the night towards Canandaigua.

During the course of the evening, our stop was officially open till midnight, a couple of riders were dropped off by Karen who had to abandon the race. When the last cyclist came through in Geneseo a little logistical juggling took place. We had to pack up all the stuff (folding tables, remaining supplies etc) in Bonnie’s car and mine, then see how to get three cyclists plus bikes to Canadaigua and eventually to Auburn. Karen took two in the pick up truck meaning one had to ride in the open back. I took the third, Makoto-san from Michigan. He and I chatted for a little bit but he quickly fell asleep and I listened to my Grateful Dead playlist while driving.

The Canandaigua stop was right on the lake. Bonnie and I thought our stop was windy. Peanuts compared to here. This stop was without any shelter and the wind was blustering in straight over the water. “Ohh, it calmed down,” shrugged Judy. This stop featured hot food (pasta, potatoes, burgers). How she managed to cook in the midst of that windy onslaught I have no idea. Driving the 35 miles to Canandaigua goes a little quicker than cycling it meaning I got to meet again some of the cyclists that came through the Geneseo stop and see how everybody was holding up a windy 35 miles later.

Here we waited for Marcia. The mystery person. Beforehand by means of Mark’s email and while operating our stop Bonnie and I had heard many great things of Marcia, the crew chief and the person who can be in many places at once (I just watched Frank Herbert’s Dune again). But we never met or saw her. Maybe she does not exist… You know, these long-distance cyclists, who knows what happens with their minds…? But there she was. Cheerful, organized and patient. Do not forget that she got up at 3am too just like the riders and had been driving back and forth between the stops. Amazing. She had just picked up Mark who did had to abandon just before Canandaigua. Two hundred and twenty miles, a great achievement!

Marcia gathered two more riders who had abandoned, my passenger was still napping in my car, and we went off to Auburn. Bringing them to Auburn (instead of back to Ithaca) gave them a chance to shover, rest more and then have the ability to ride back to Ithaca still completing most of the distance of the race. From Auburn it was back home to Webster for me where I arrived at 5am.

I am very happy that I volunteered to help out. It was an incredible experience to see these boys and gals attempt and succeed in this race. To receive and assist the riders as they came through Geneseo after already at least 13 hours and for some 20 hours of hard effort was very rewarding. And I learned from them with regards to my own cycling: I need to drink more, try to eat real food (a proper sandwich) during breaks, use the Endurolyte pills that sit in my cupboard.

All of the participants impressed me:

• Dennis for his quiet determination
• Henrik fresh as a shiny apple after 200 miles
• Leslie, the most cheerful cyclist I’ve ever met
• George in his rush to keep going and ignore his stomach problems
• Michelle deserving the giggle award
• Renato bubbling over with adrenaline just wanting to talk, talk
• Mark F. who seems to look younger the more tired he gets. What secret is hiding here?
• Mark S. carefully taking in bits of food and slowly, slowly warming up to our conversation
• Craig from Pennsylvania who I teased about not riding here from there
• Tim and Jeff who knew each other from magazine articles and now met for the first time?
• Makoto-san who calmly, quietly endured the hours until we got him back to Auburn
• And also Marcel (I wish a spoke better French), Glen, Jud, Chester, and I fear I am forgetting someone for which I apologize.

I took some pictures which you can find in the gallery.