A Peloton of Three

Umm... while Mom and Polly are recoupin', Hoot and Sarah and I took to the mean streets of Arlington, Lexington and Bedford for what some call the Minuteman Bike Path and others call 'the Hell of the Northeast' (though I'm not sure who those people are).

We had some coffee and cinnamon toast to get ourselves primed. Then, we set off at 8:30am.

We made good time to Bedford and found ourselves being hunted down by ominous thunderclouds.

So, we decided to hightail it on back to the safehaven of their Watertown digs, where a lervely hammock was waiting.

Approximately 25 miles in approximately 02:15:00. That's approximately 11.1 mph.



However, various top speeds were attained along the way, e.g. in an effort to catch up with the show-off stranger who passed us about a mile before the Arlington Great Meadow (no, I didn't catch him), etc. etc. No bugs on my baby!

I don't see no fracture

It's all lies - whatever.

I went to the orthopedist on Tuesday. The good news is that he said my left elbow isn't actually fractured, just bruised badly. That makes no sense to me since there is no visible bruise and it hurts worse than the other areas. My right elbow is fractured but just needs a sling. There's a lovely bruise with a gorgeous indigo tint to it. You'd love it. My left wrist is fractured - the navicular/scaphoid bone? They said it's an important bone and takes a long time to heal: 8-10 weeks in a splint. I asked about biking and he said there's just too much vibration. I mentioned the ride this summer and he said "yeah, you won't be doing that." I knew it already, but was holding out on the slim chance I could be healed in 6 weeks. No such luck.

Anyway, I really am feeling a lot better and can move more easily now that the big huge things on both arms are gone. I can shower and brush my own hair and drink a cup of coffee without a straw. But my training rides are over for now. I am pretty bummed but will find a way to volunteer. Jim and I are still coming up and we'll still have fun times USA.

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/otherfractures/a/scaphoid.htm

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Nelnor!

Memorial Day Ride

We had such success with our first ride this weekend, that we decided to try a second. Although it was a bit shorter (20mi), it was MUCH hillier... I suspect much closer to what the actual ride will be like. Still we managed to keep up our 11.5mph average. The weather was lovely, although it was a little hot in the sun and I got a bit of a burn.

Our route took us out to Lincoln right by the DeCordova museum.





Then down past Drumlin Farm.

And then back via Rt 117... and you know what that means... DAIRY JOY!!!

The Meet Up that was... not

Well... we didn't "meet-up" in Philly but all was not lost. The weather was really gorgeous here but not too hot. So it was great for riding.

We started our weekend riding actually on Friday morning with a short ride we try to do a few mornings each week. It's only about a half hour, but we get in a few hills. Friday evening after Nancy came home, we did another frequent ride of ours - to the Art Museum and back via the river drives. It's a mostly flat ride except (as always) for the big hill right near our house.

Saturday afternoon was the day for a longer, hilly ride. It was about a 24 mile route on a road that goes by pretty farms and countryside. However, it turned out to be pretty narrow and with a lot of cars. We decided not to do that ride again. On the good side, we didn't find the hills impossible. We were definitely working for them but they were doable. This was our first ride where we tried Cliff "Shot Blocks". They seemed to help but it wasn't such a long ride so we weren't sure. They did taste okay so that was a plus.

Sunday was a day off for gardening and hanging with some friends from Nancy's work.

Today we did our longest ride ever - 38.8 miles (we wish could have tacked on another 1.2 miles just to make it an even 40!). This was a flat ride - same ride as a few weeks ago only farther but our aim was just to do a long ride. This time the "Shot Blocks" were a big help.

Here are some pics from our ride on Saturday. Part of the ride went by an arboretum that had a cool art installation so we had to stop and snap a few of that. Oh, and one of me with ice on my knee after today's ride :)

Playin' Hooky

Ta and I skipped work today and took advantage of the lovely weather venturing out for our first outdoor bike trek.

We didn't try anything fancy, we just rode out from our house to the Minuteman trail. We rode it to the end and back for a total of 25mi, pretty much flat except for the hill right near our house. All in all, it was a pretty successful outing: we averaged ~11.5mph ... and only one skinned knee (ouch!).

Alls I can say is those Harpoon IPAs were pretty damned tasty when we got back home! Good times. Go team Charlie!!!!

Break from work - 10 miler

This is an easy ride anyone who works in Boston can do during a lunch-hour break. It's "tres bon" to do on a nice day, too. I did it yesterday in just under 50 minutes and could probably improve on that time on a weekday when there's less traffic on the Charles River recreational trails. Anyone who wants to do it together let me know and we'll pick times.

Holy Hills Batman!

Hi all,

Well, most of our training so far has been flat (unless you count the giant hill we have to go up to get home from most rides). So today I decided I needed to mix in some hills. It was a short ride - only 8.69 mi but I felt good that my average speed was still 11.5 even with some a number of decent hills. I guess the good thing about going uphill is that generally you get to go downhill too! Need to get my brakes checked though!

If you check out my ride on MapItPronto disregard the steep dip around mile 2 - it must calculate the elevation based on the topography of the land and not the actual road. There's a bridge that goes over this ravine.

Anyone planning to come down to Philly for Memorial Day weekend? We would love to see yuze gize!

Unphotoshopped nerd.

Ok. My first official training photos.--

No photoshopping, no trick angles.

Just pure cyclo-nerd.

BTW, how's ev'body doing?

Brubeck on a Bike?

Huh? What do Dave Brubeck and cycling have in common? Uh... Not sure exactly. I'll get back to you all on that.

But... as a form of homage to a guy who loved Brubeck as much as anyone (yes, I mean Charlie), and as I am in possesion of some tickets to the upcoming Dave Brubeck Quartet concert June 14 at the Berklee Performance Center, I offer the following: two tickets to the show for the team charlie member who combines to both raise the most moola and log the most training miles between today, May 8, and Saturday, June 7. (That's miles logged plus dollars raised! One mile equals one dollar and vice versa.)

Now, I know that half of you are outtatowners and might not be able to get up here for the concert, but you shouldn't feel unincentivized. So, let's all keep logging miles and funds. Me? I rode 4 miles today and raised $25 buckeroos. How about them apples?

(i'll leave it to you photoshop geniuses to make a jpeg of brubeck on a bike!)

Upcoming Bostonia Bike Events...

A few opportunties for a bit of extra time in the saddle with no traffic worries are coming up as part of Bay State Bike Week. I'm thinking of doing Bike the Charles this Saturday (May 10), which starts in Watertown. Anyone wanna join me at 10 a.m.?

Also on May 16, it's like National Bike to Work day or something and there will be convoys all over the Boston area at different times to help people ride safely to work, providing company and breakfast treats. I'm going to do the 7a.m. from Roslindale Convoy, even though I don't have to be at work that early and even though I don't live in Roslindale. I just like having the company when riding, as it helps my confidence navigating through the city streets. Word.

Nancy and Ellie's training progress

Today we did our longest ride so far - 34.8 miles on the Schuylkill River Trail. A few weeks ago we did 25 miles or so of the same trail. The trail is a Rails to Trails trail so it's pretty flat but given that we live up on the ridge above the river, any ride for us pretty much involves a steep climb on the way home.

Nancy's getting used to her new bike. This was her second ride on it - we did a shorter ride last evening in the Wissahickon (The Wissa-what?? I don't know... it sounds weird!). She was definitely happier today on the paved surface. Most of the time we averaged about 12 mph or a little more. The early part of the trail, however (pictured above) is not paved but gravelly so we had to slow down going through there. Also on the way back from where we turned around, we had a lot of wind coming at us (plus being more tired) so that slowed us a little.

It's hard to see on this map, but we went almost to Valley Forge Nat'l. Park before we turned around. The orange arrows are our starting point and turning around point.

So, although we're pretty tired, we seem to be able to stand upright and walk (for the most part, anyway!). A little arnica and some Recovery Rub should help a lot!

Oh, by the way, no, we didn't ride up the steep hill to get back to our house - we walked it, which was tough enough!

Sarah & Hoot we hope your party was a lot of fun!

Another Saturday, another training ride

I just got back from my Saturday ride -

http://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=routePlanner.viewDBRide&rideID=2072.

17.4 miles in 1:20 (about 13.5 mph), not counting the stop around mile 13 which just happened to be at Java Jive. Turned out that wasn't such a great idea. It was a little on the chilly side (mid-60s) this morning and after sitting and drinking my latte for a while, it was a hard to get going again. I had a hill to climb right away and my legs felt awful. Next time I'll try not to have any prolonged stops.

Mostly, today's ride was pretty level but a few longer climbs on Evans Rd. and Cary Pkwy. were tough. I made it though - even if it was at ~4 mph. I was trying to work on distance and maintaining a better speed. I think I did OK, but I was definitely feeling the WCF when I first left the house. Jim & I went for a ride yesterday afternoon, which was great, but I got a little sunburned so the wind felt extra cold this morning.

I wish I could measure up to you guys with the $$$ - I am not getting it done. What's the secret? Why am I so lame?

Oh, and I forgot to add - happy Derby Day. Hope you guys have a fun party today.

Look out haters

I may be slow coming out of the gate, but don't underestimate the TA!

Eight Belles isn't the only fast Philly in the "Derby".

And hey, look, we're almost half-way to our fundraising goal... how did that happen?

Go team Charlie! Can't wait for the big sleepover.

Finally...a bike built in this century!!!!!!

Guess what....You guessed it...new bike for the nanster. I really had to move ahead on this. I couldn't live with the situation, now that Ellie got cleats and clips and oiled her chain and pumped up her tires. I couldn't keep up! Now she's going to be seeing my back! (I love you El)

OK, so my new red bike turns out to have a couple of little butterflies on it...kind of wussey and girly. I didn't notice until I had already decided that it was the bike that fit and felt the best when I rode it. But I'm turning this into a cool biker fashion statement. Anyone know where to get a butterfly tatoo? I'm thinking left calf.

(it's a Specialized - Vita flat bar road bike)

Training Log Entry: Wednesday, April 30

Ok. So this wasn't a completely successful training ride, but it was a "learning experience." The idea was to start at 6p.m. and go to the Blue Hills and back (about 28 miles). This picture at right is a detail from my planned route showing, more or less, the portion that I was able to do.

First off, I didn't get started until 7p.m. (decided not to clip in, due to the fact that I am, in fact, a horrible person who needs help from "y'all" in overcoming my fear of clipping in). Then, I took a warm-up lap of Franklin Park, climbing all the little hills in there easily without having to downshift much at all. Lot's of golfers out, beautiful evening for 9 holes. Thought of Chuck, of course.

From there I meandered over to the Arboretum and made it before sunset, which is when it closes. I didn't exactly follow my map getting there. Entered at the South Street Gate and went up the observation hill with the big (white?) pines at the top. No aging skate punks there last night, sorry to report, though the lilacs are almost in full bloom. This hill was a bit more of an effort, but still not too much huffing and puffing. The descent however was a little chilly.

Then I climbed the bigger/steeper hill at the south end of the park. No problem. However, on my way down, I noticed a full-on phenomenon that I will refer to as "the wind chill factor" (hereafter, WCF). Ok, I was nicely warmed up from the ride thus far, a good 4 or 5 miles to that point. But the WCF of the steep descent made me shiver. Yikes!

Despite the chill, I decided to forge ahead with my plans, now modified to get to Stonybrook Reservation and then get the hell home asap. And I had by now lost almost all of what was left of the daylight, ergo most of my external source of warmth. I was freezing! And I kept thinking, as long as I keep riding, I'll stay warm. (Yeah. My legs and trunk will stay warm, but what about my fingers and my ears and nose!? Brrr.)

I got to Stony and I was still in relatively good spirits. But it was now getting dark and I had completely forgotten how to get to "Bald Knob," the hill I had chosen for it's elevation and aerobic value, blah, blah, blah. By now you see my scientific approach to the task was disintegrating.

Suffice it to say I got home in one piece with a smile on my face and a feeling of accomplishment, but cursing the WCF and very much anticipating more [warmer morning] rides.