Tales of a Last-Minute Sally

In keeping with my habit of waiting 'til the last (and I mean VERY last) minute to get things done, I figured I would finally blog about our Memory Ride training rides from the past few weeks (OK, months). When last I blogged (back in May!!??), I mentioned we had 3 rides to report on, but then I only blogged about two of them (Mother's day and San Francisco). The 3rd ride was a really nice 30-mile loop that Ta, Neddie and I did in the Concord/Carlisle area. We came upon this monument in Concord Center:

Then Ta and I got ... well, let's just say distracted with a certain real estate transaction. But while we were on the Cape we did manage to get in a few rides... one long one out to P-town and back and a few shorter ones out to Lt. Island. We stopped in at Wellfleet Bay and visited Charlie's spot:

Back in Boston, we went on another ~25mile ride with Neddie, this time on the South shore/ Blue Hills area. My guess is they're called "Blue" Hills after the color your face turns while trying to climb up them. Aside from oxygen deprivation, this ride was notable for two things: 1) Ta's first wipe-out of the season; 2) a certain street sign we came upon:

Two weekends ago Ned, Ta and I did our last training ride together, a really pretty 40-mile loop on the North shore in Ipswitch/Essex/Manchester. We wrapped up the ride at Singing beach where we dipped our tootsies in the chilly Atlantic.

Not only am I a last-minute-Sally blogger, but I'm also last minute when it comes to training. The 40-mile North shore ride with Ta & Ned made me realize how woefully underprepared for the big ride I was. I had to work last weekend so I wasn't able to do any rides. So this past week I went into panic mode. Monday I put my bike on the back of my Mini, drove to a commuter rail station about 20 miles away from work and rode in from there. OMG, Worcester county has some serious hills. Let's just say, Monday was a short work day... it took me 2 hrs to ride in and 1.5 to ride back, so I think I was only at work for an hour or two. Tuesday was wicked rainy here so I just put my bike on the trainer in the basement and rode for about 45min. Wednesday I did a 40-mile portion of the Memory Ride route. And, yes, it did include the dreaded "6 miles of crying". The good news is that it's definitely do-able, but it is tough. My advice is don't over think it, cause you'll psych yourself out... just take it one hill at a time. Yesterday, I did a quick out and back on the Minuteman path, which is about 20miles, easy flat riding. I did that mostly to just re-inforce the work I had done earlier in the week. I thought it would be completely uneventful, but then I decided to have what I'm calling a "sympathy crash" for Polly. I completely scraped up my knee and got a big bruise on my tussic.

Today, I decided to take the day off and rest my weary bones.

I think I might be ready...

Belated Tales from Nova Scotia

So thanks to some handy work by Brendan I have rescued about 90% of my pictures from the trip and can now report back in full technicolor. (n.b. lupins are ubiquitous in the Acadian scenery.)

Yes, there was quite a bit of rain up in The North Country and I was wishing I had splurged for those waterproof shoe protectors at REI but once you accept the rain its not that bad. And all told I was in pretty good biking weather most of the time; not too sunny, not too humid, not too cold.

The first day there I just did a short 45 mile loop not too far from Yarmouth but after spending the next day in a rental car driving the Fundy Coast I decided to take the plunge and do my 4-day loop in 3 days. From Yarmouth to Barrington day 1, Barrington to lervely Trout Point Lodge on day 2 and back to Yarmouth on the final day.
Here I am on the first day's trial run looking very contented. This was before I rode right into a serious black cloud of pummeling rain. (see storm clouds in next picture)

So one nice thing I discovered is that my new panniers come with their own little yellow raincoats. Isn't that handy? If only my shoes did too.








The weather seemed nice enough the day I left and the forecast looked the best it had been all week. But of course as soon as I turned onto the first major road, the deluge came and I was soaked before I could even don my terrible outfit.

You can't see my booties too well here but yes, those are plastic bags on my feet. They did the job well enough and after 12 or so miles of rain it started to clear up and I had dried off by mid day.

Most of the first day was along what is called the 'lighthouse route'. It was a lovely road through many a quaint seaside village, although I only saw a couple lighthouses.
I did pass by the site of the famous (?) Shag Harbor 1967 UFO incident. Alas I could find no UFO.
After the sun came out I found a place called Creamy Treat and finally discovered the joy of ice cream and cycling. I don't know why I was such a hater before.




After a night at a pretty boring motel in Barrington I headed out in the early mist (see the picture at top) for my longest day of the trip. I was pretty worried about the climb on this day coupled with the distance but it turned out to be a very low grade and gradual climb and once I decided to put it in the 2nd gear I cruised most of the way. And awaiting me at the end was a stay at the very relaxing and beautiful Trout Point Lodge. Gourmet food, river swimming, hot tub on the bank of the river, and a Swedish massage. Every cyclist's dream.
I thought the final day would be the easiest since it was the shortest and I had an hour long massage that morning but the checkout person cautioned me that it was pretty hilly on the way back to Yarmouth and she was not lying.

All in all, it was a great trip that I recommend to all. While there are not very good shoulders on the roads up there most drivers are very courteous to if slightly confused by cyclists and the roads overall were in good shape. I realized I really like the idea of touring - of biking to a new place each night rather than just looping immediately back to where you started and I am already starting to hatch plans for my next bike tour. I've also found that the best way to do it is to stay at nice hotels with really good food. So....who's in?

We're here!

Not wanting to make Polly feel so lonely, I thought I'd make a quick blog post to point out that Team Charlie is once again on the fund raising leader board in 4th place!
I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm definitely finding it a bit harder to reach my goal this year. But the totals are creeping up little by little.

How's everyone doing with the riding part? Nancy and I have done a fair amount of training but nowhere near what we did last year. I'm hoping that's ok since a) we're in better shape and b) I probably over-trained last year since I was nervous I couldn't do it.

Can't wait to see everyone - just a bit more than 2 weeks!

Where is everybody?

What's going on? How come youse guys are all so quiet. Whacha been doin?

Last weekend I went for a very nice ride - headed out a bit southwest from my house towards Jordan Lake. It was a beautiful day & I saw some sights.

Around mile 26, I ran into this cute boy on a spiffy new black bike. I thought it would be fun to ride with him for a while. He's fast. I can't keep up with him. I'm not sure if I want to ride with him anymore.

Wednesday night I did about 15 miles, but I got a late start and it was getting dark. I was worried it would start raining & I thought I felt raindrops - then I realized it was bugs. It was nasty. Yesterday morning, I took another long ride. It's been hotter than Hades down here lately. Jim loaned me his camel pack, which I have to say, was pretty great. I wanted to leave at 7 but didn't get on the road 'til 8:45. This week I headed south. The first half of the ride was no problem at all. There was some shade and interesting scenery - this week's livestock of note is guinea hens, plus some roadkill rattlesnakes, but that's not really livestock. It's not even deadstock. At mile 24 I hit some parts where the road surface was really rough. There were strong head winds and crosswinds, making every pedal stroke a struggle. I got mildly irritated when the thermometer on my cyclo-computer hit 100. But I made it all the way back without having to call for a ride. Barely.

Total miles - 46.4
Total time - 3:40:19
Total $ raised - $885

Then it was off to the DBAP to watch the Bulls & PawSox. Michael Bowden & Charlie Zink joined us to share our picnic and sign autographs. PawSox took all three games this past weekend - tonight it's Buccholz vs. Kazmir. Should be good.

Beaucoups de rides

Dudes,

I am working hard. I started late and I am super sucky at bike riding, but I am trying very hard to overcome my shortcomings. Since I started about two weeks ago, I have been doing 3-4 rides a week and am progressively increasing my mileage and climbing. I've been doing my long rides on Sunday mornings, which usually works pretty well. Every Sunday, I set a new bar for myself of longest ride ever. I try to do one or two evening rides and one or two morning rides during the week. Plus I have ballet twice a week, so I am getting at least five good workouts per week. I am trying to maintain 12 mph, which for me is hard. But dudes, I am getting it done.

There are lots of interesting things to see on each ride and they have all been scenic with tons of different places to go. I don't think I've done the same ride twice yet. I think my theme for the year will be livestock (I also considered cemeteries and old cars - I'll save those for another year).

Last Sunday, I saw lots of horses and cows, donkeys and goats. I got caught in some heavy rain for the last two miles. In some ways it was good because at least now I know what it's like to ride in the rain. Friday night I went for a really nice ride. It was kind of misting on & off the whole time, but it actually felt nice and the roads weren't too wet. I saw horses, cows, a peacock, a turtle looking up at me when I crossed a bridge and a couple of deer crossed the road in front of me toward the end of my ride.

Yesterday, I went for a long ride and surpassed my time/speed goal. I got a later start than I wanted, which meant I didn't finish until after noon and I was riding with a lot less shade than I hoped for. It was hot. I saw more horses and cows (one cow was wearing a pink bike helmet), I rescued a turtle from certain death, I saw a beaver, and around mile 16 or so, I came across a sign for what I really needed... Mt. Energy. Unfortunately, I wasn't going that way and headed for the valley of despair instead. It was really pretty hilly. One bad hill in the last half mile - it wasn't appreciated.

I see other kinds of creatures when I get home.

And guess who bought a bike yesterday. Progress on all fronts.

100 miles

Nancy and I hit our 100 mile mark in our training. We're still way behind last year and way behind Ned with his impressive 250 miles, but we picked up the pace a bit with today's ride, averaging 12.4 mph. It helps that this ride was all on nice open road surface, closed off to cars and the weather was just perfect for riding.

We did the Art Museum loop - well not really a loop - more like up and back - twice for a total of 25 miles. We took a quick pit stop at the beautifully restored Philadelphia Water Works and took in the view across the Schuylkill of the famous Boathouse Row.


Our training is still fairly hill deficient. Neither of us had the steam to make it up the super steep hill that almost all our rides entail unless we drive to the beginning. I swear this hill is really killer even though it looks pretty in this photo. Thing is there are two more hills after you get up this! Last year we were able to do it, but we haven't even attempted it so far.


Hope everyone is having fun and we can't wait to see you all!

Wait! Is that Ned Blogging? What the What?

Yes, yes it is I. Just wanted to dip my toes in the blog before I take my trip next month to Nova Scotia when I should have some actual pictures as well as tales of international cycling to share.

In the meantime, I will just point out that I have passed the 250 mile point in my training and that I am rockin' one leg! OK I am rockin' two legs but still... The showers at the new Food Bank have left me no excuse not to bike into work so I have been trying to do that as much as possible (although this week has been freakin' cold!). I am starting to grow weary of my customary 'round Boston loop and out rte. 109 to rte. 27 and back rte. 16 loops so I will need to seek out some new territory. I just got invited by a co-worker to do some Best Buddies ride to Hyannis with Tom Brady this weekend. I suspect it is a ruse of some sort. I will report back on Brady's knee if I end up doing it.

That's all fer now.

Sunday May 24, 2009

I rode my bike today. First time in over a year. Jim is still sans bicyclette.

San Frantastic Ride!!!

Wowzah!! Last Monday, after 2 unusually hot days in the beautiful city of San Francisco, Sarah and I decided to pick the 50-degree, windy and foggy day to rent bikes and ride across the Golden Gate bridge into Sausalito and up to Mill Valley... et je ne regret RIEN!!! It was sooo fun, but OH MY GAWD it was windy up on that bridge. Sarah got blown off her bike.

We stopped for hot chocolate in Sausalito and then rode up to Mill Valley where we hugged some Redwood trees. Then we biked back to Sausalito and caught the ferry back to Fisherman's wharf in San Fracisco. On the way we got to see Alcatraz up close and personal. Miles logged this trip: 20.

Mother's Day Minuteman Ride

On the subject of slacking, we have totally dropped the ball on the blogging front and as a result we have 3 biking adventures to report on. The first was a lovely 20-mile jaunt out the Minuteman path and back on May 10th (Mother's Day). I was joined by Ta and Ned for what was Ta and my first real bike ride of the season. Ned was on point with his rockin' new removable sleeve jacket (... beige socks slightly less awesome).

True confessions

Ok, we admit it - we're a couple of slackers. We haven't been on a ride in almost a month - not even a spin around the block or to the store. We're terrible, obviously.

But finally today, we made an attempt to reduce our terribleness. We got the bikes out of the shed, strapped 'em on the back of the car and took off for the Perkiomen Creek Trail. This is the same trail we did last year although last year we did the whole trail out and back - about 36 miles or so. This time, we weren't as far along in our training so we did 25 miles of it - up to the 12% grade and back (no, we did not go down the 12% grade because of not wanting to come back up it).

It was a lovely day but unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures this time. So, instead here is one from last year crossing over the creek.

More Spring Training

Editorial Note: I wrote this on April 26 but never posted it, so here it is delayed...
------------------------
Hi all!

Nancy and I continued our training yesterday with a 17 mile ride around the river drives in Philly. We made a short pit stop at the Azalea Garden on the grounds of the Philly Art Museum. As a result, we decided that our theme for this year's training blog will be plants and flowers we see on our rides (to counter balance all the shots of everyone eating snacks along their rides last year!).

So, in keeping with that, here is a photo of one of the beds at the Azalea Garden. The azaleas weren't quite in bloom but the beds had lovely plantings of bulbs and other attractive annuals and perennials.

Ready Set Go!

Ok, Team Charlie riders, I'm ready!

I may not have a fancy-schmancy indoor trainer (I do have trainer envy though) but I have officially dusted off my Schwinn, pumped the tires and taken her out for Spring test ride.

Let the fun begin!

"Spring Training"

Papi, Pedroia, Youk and Paps aren't the only ones who are "gettin' it done" this Spring. Ta and I have dusted off the ol' bikes and have hit the ground running... well, maybe hit the ground jogging, or at the very least we've hit the ground at a light trot, but make no mistake, we have officially hit the ground!

For Spring break, we headed south to Ft. Myers, FL to take in a few Red Sox Spring Training games. While we were in the area, we hopped over to Sanibel for a lovely 13-mile bike ride through the Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary.

The rental bikes were not quite what we're used to (but, hey, I could get used to a ginormous seat with crazy shock absorbance... and the basket was pretty handy, too) and there were many stops along the way to check out various avian species.

All in all, we completed the trek in just over 2 hours.

[See more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/CCArmsby/SpringTrainingEtc#]

Since we've been home we've renewed our resolve to keep to our training schedule of 30min/day on our trainers (that doesn't exactly mean we've been doing it, but at least we have a renewed resolve to do it).

And yes my bike does still have it's 2008 Memory Ride number on it (i.e., no, I have not gone for a ride since July 26, 2008.

Team Charlie was amazing last year, raising a total $11,427.25.

This year, we welcome Jim Morlando to the team, so barring any injuries, we should have at least 8 riders!!!

Visit http://memoryride2009.kintera.org/teamcharlie to make a donation or to join our team.

Go Team Charlie, Go!!!!

Not Quite Biking Weather

Well, we were all set to start our training for the 2009 Team Charlie ride... but then...










it snowed. So instead we finally got a chance to cross country ski. Hey, it's cross training right?

Anyway, both Nancy and I are now officially enrolled in this year's incarnation of TEAM CHARLIE. I noticed we have already slipped from second to fifth place. But of course we haven't even gotten started yet. So, we hope to see some more names up on the Team Charlie roster soon to keep Hootie, Sarah, Nancy and I company.

Meanwhile, we're gettin' it done, frosty style!