Spooky RP ride

1830, Wednesday night, Halloween nite, PyZahl meet with K & C at the north east RP parking lot for a nite ride. The three fearless riders headed into the dark woods of RP/RCA areal and merged onto the winding trail -- into the deep dark forest. Little confusion at the intersection of the first black diamond section, looked so different in the dark, but they figured it out right and from them PyZahl led the group all the way and lighted up the trail with his dual TripeFire (TF) LED Light setup -- at max it out put 12 Watts bright LED light each:

Just a bit about Py's LED lights:

One Triple LED (4W max ea) light with 12/12/30 Degree Optics on the handlebar for fast far vision and the second TF with 30/12/30 Degree Optics on the helmet for perfect trail illumination... A total of 24W LED light, about 6x 80..90lm -- have to say Py's TF was designed and build in 2004 by himself and CF, so LEDs are a few generations old -- with today most state of the art LEDs you could get up to 100 lm/W -- that would be 2400 lm at 24W -- hard to imagine, need to see some time!!
However, even so, it is still more and better than most on the market, also his feather light LiPoly Battery, which lasts for over 4 1/2 hours at full power -- much longer if the light is just turned down a bit, he can adjust it continuously from off to 100%.

Just little into the ride we saw a light of some rider in the woods, not sure if ahead or behind. He seamed to hammer and joined us for the ride, as he missed buddies today, and was happy to hang on -- so four rider kept going. We moved good and at comfortable safe pace for Py. It was just a great warm Halloween nite -- and a little spooky also, as there was a bat(man) flying along... and crossing Py's light beams. Little later, a drink stop, and warm enough to take off one layer.

Flying over the Rocky Pt Trail @ nite really rocks!!!!! Not to mention flying at full warp scary speed through the two fast narrow tunnel like sections with lights -- Py was leading, it must look and feel even greater sitting at the end of the "MTB pace line"...

Passing the main parking lot the fourth rider left them and the three dived into the West Side.

Here PyZ is looking and pointing his helmet light on his buddies, K just fixed some minor technical trouble.... (no speedlight used!)


Here the speed light of the camera was enabled in addition:


C's new light turned into emergency mode, as the battery was not fully charged... so he got in the middle position to get light from the other two... Worked out pretty good, as we kept going still at a good pace, little more care full going. They finished the whole thing with a moving time of 1h47.

What a ride :-) and a perfect last time in there for the season, as this trail is closed from November for bikes.

Planning for the BIG RIDE 2007

Last years BIG RIDE was a big success and full two day of fun with one big pasta party in between, read here, almost one year ago by now:

http://pyzahl.blogspot.com/2006/11/big-ride-x-long-island-by-mtb-in-two.html

Please go here if interested, Topic "Big Ride 2007":
http://groups.google.com/group/usual-suspects-cycling-crew

We can do it again! We need you to make it fun!

Last Early Birds Flight of the Season

This Sunday PyZahl made it to the last Early Birds flight of the season. The sun was still below the horizon and the moon was up high positioned in a great clear sky.

It was fairly comfortable temperature for that early morning hour, but the wind chill was significant. Expecting wind gusts up to 30mph soon...


More showing up, that's good, more legs to push the air away...


Some birds seam to have a turbo charged photon warp drive enabled bike -- if this is UCI conform...???


And really colorful bird...


Ready to fly...


The flight started out at warp speed of about 40km/h on the North Route and a reassembly slow down -- they were surprisingly nice today -- took place at Edwards, as some riders must have got dropped at the first miles already. From then on comfortable moving in a small head group with heavy cross winds form left (NW) and bad head wind on Doctors. Moving east on Sound was much better again and was like flying -- only on big branch came in PyZahls path at good moving speed and had to be cleared by hopping it as there was no chance to get around, worked just find, wheels were barely touching it :-) The usual sprint at the tanks separated the group again and a second group assembled soon and they reached the Cutchogue Deli for a hot Coffee :-)


On the way back the head wind component was strong, the last days rain storm must have washed some debris on the road and a rider got a flat -- they did not had a flat stop in a long while at all!


And all together fly back home.

PS: Read the nleg blog for complimentary ride details.

Annual Camp HF MTB ride

At noon a group of bikers gathered at the gazzeeboo for the annual HF ride in on sandy double track in the back woods of the Camp:


They started out and a good moving pack of six riders formed the head and nicely stayed together, a quick and fast ride. There was a new face PyZahl did not know yet with some "campuscycle" on a blueish shirt. Nothing special, just a good ride.

5k Race at the Camp - Health Fest 2007

2007 annual 5k Camp health fest run was rescheduled for today. Still not the greatest day, but alright. PyZahl attached his number to his Asymptotes jersey, put a warm Fleece on and went to the start to check out what's up and some little warm-up. Terry was already jogging around, but nobody else but the staff setting up the big timer... Little chilly. Twenty minutes to start. Scouting it all out and getting the engine little running and warm... Campers slowly gathering at the starting area and moving around in a brownian motion way. PyZahl found a good place on a branch to put his jacket and water bottle. All seamed like routine, but his first Camp 5k, the second timed 5k over all. Finding a bathroom in a long building close to the start was not as easy as suggested.

The Course

12:02, a few minutes to start, the crowd moved to the start little down the road. Ready and Troeoeoet -- the pack stared out. PyZahl tried to keep his speed little above 15km/h by using his GPS, but limiting his HR below 185 or so -- well, in theory. If he would have had set that damn thing to "data every second" and "no auto pause" and would have had adjusted the damn HR belt better to stay in place... all hi tec was a bit fu**** up -- so what, there was a little number of runners ahead at good pace, but they seam to drop back soon and he had to take care not getting stuck behind one slowing down, but keeping up his pace, he felt good and easy going, regardless some fluctuating useless GPS speed numbers around 13...20km/h -- very precise BS. At about km two there was only Terry far ahead and two more in between Terry and PyZahl, he getting little closer to those ahead. He started out to slow it seamed and was going pretty easy, to easy. HR numbers were useless fluctuating, and fiddling with that belt was not so efficient for running either...

Somewhere at km three at the loop at the Science Museum, a wide gap behind him, no one, and a decent gap in front, that's bad, nothing to hang on, there the route folded back into itself and he run into the upcoming riders (Uoops, runners), he was not sure when to pick up speed, he had no good clue about his HR but felt alright, not even burning legs, nothing, all good. With one km to go he decided to go for it and picked up little speed, came closer, but the finial sprint was not sufficient to catch Nº3 within a second or so...

Something was odd, where was the big clock, but no time. It gave up due to some rain, how funny. But luckily, they had a backup stop watch. Seams all hi-tec wasn't working proper today. But the runners were working OK. Most important. Not knowing any time for a while... 19:42 seamed to be the number later.

At the finish, the drizzle got little more intense, the later the wetter they got.... Here Randy, good job!


Little more hanging out with colleagues in the still intensifying drizzle... well, it is getting cold, it is getting wet, he picked up his T and wend back to his office, looking for a warm shower. Not really sweating at all, weired, just to chilly to sweat. He should have or could have run faster today. So what. Let's try out that all new shower in that all new Nano Camp home. He wanted a hot shower............. but all he got was cold water.............. for several minutes............... what dude did designed that house infrastructure????? He started showering fairly cold, slowly, very slowly, it really got warm. There must be miles of pipes to warm up.

10k Bluestone

Just for the training log: Today 10k Camp Lunchtime "Bluestone".

PyZahl just made it to the start at the Reactor, as he was in a meeting until last minute and got in extra "warm up" sprints in between buildings on the Camp -- how stupid -- and did not even found time to drink water before, but needed to run into a random building on the go to find a tap at a random men's room, used his hands as a cup, last minute before heading into the desert like woods... sprinting once more to catch up.... what a weired way to start a run...

Attendance: 4 runners

Weather: really warm for the season, quite windy

Pace: good moving

Distance & Time: just estimates -- may be over all 10..11km, time some thing from 12:05 .. 12:58 including water stops, sprints, etc, etc............

Purpose: Training Just4Fun & Healthfest 5k

Scary Night Ride

Missed miles and a with great mild day coming up PyZahl had to jump on the Tarmac and ride to work. But with our planet earth pointing more away from the sun he needed to rig up the bike for an eventual late night ride back home from his office at the Camp.

Unfortunately he has to leave his great bike friendly office and environment in 555 ......... and move into the all shiny new building -- great, but some down grade, nicer, yes, but smaller and still all kind of cold and anonymous atmosphere (THIS HAS TO (BE) CHANG(ED)). Not even a place, hook or anything alike to hang a coat or jersey, a bathroom, well, yes, but less nice and bright and a mile away -- he still wonders what bright dude did that design. Funnily, the new Center of the Camp is called "Functional...", but the building, for sure, is far from that.

(sorry about that crude stitch)

So the day went along sorting things, packing things and getting some other things done. Time flew along at the sun was already setting as he left the Camp on the usual Cross course.

Is was so nice and comfortable as the was dusk setting in, he added an extra hilly loop and stopped by at the Reactor (well, view at it) what never came online at WRB.


Riding back home on NC in total darkness on a fresh paved absolutely black and non reflective road with still almost brand new shiny white road marking looked kind of scary cool (no photo, to scary for the camera) in the bright bluish white LED light of his 12Watts Stonebite TripleFire prototype (yes, prototype, he designed the Light with his buddy CF in Switzerland a few years ago), Stop and other signs refecting and looking brighter than ever, even behind trees.

It got really scary back in Rocky Point.......

The nite ride machine.

Forced to a Recovery Weekend

Not much is also good at times. On Friday PyZahl felt some what out of any energy and kind of sick all day. There was that great ride planned for Saturday upstate from New Paltz, climbing roads around Mohonk -- too bad, he did not felt right, so he slept from eight to nine some thing in the morning. He got up inbetween around four o'clock -- that would have been the time to get going for the road trip to New Paltz, but still did not felt right or close to 100%...

A late Saturday breakfast, some hacking, some very old data retrieval and tuning. A car ride to Kreb Cycle to get some stuff preparing for the cold coming soon and a easy going day home. Getting back to normal and feeling alright later the day.

Too late. That's fortune, why that day? Why?

So now pretty good recovered the next day, Sunday, he still took it easy and skipped the birds, better no over do it and get sick again, but still a little workout in the woods of the former RCA central, he rode a nice comfy paced but not chilling full lap with JIF. A great day!

They found a cell of someone on the trail, JIF figured CSI like out the owner and that thing got deposited at Tildas for later pickup.

TOSRC

What is TOSREC?

It is John's 'Tour Of Southern Rural Connecticut'. Join John & others for a the 2nd anual leaf watching Century (give or take*)in beutiful New England. Ride leaves from the Orient Point Ferry @ 7:00 Wednesday morning. Remember to bring money for the ferry & lunch.

Finally, it got time to get rolling, well, on the ferry first.


Getting to Orient, they could enjoy these really beautiful sun ride, uuups, rise, over the Sound...


Not that the foliage was great enough, also the whole day turned out to be better that the weather forecast let expecting and the sun was with all of them almost the whole day, a little scary overcast sky around noon, but that was it, with temps in the 70s -- what else can you ask for? And then, a very calm day -- as this photo, PyZahl really needed to stop for that picture:


On the rural back roads of CT...



Here is the ride in numbers:

Surface Wind: WNW 13mph -- painful return

A fast ride out east today. A chilly morning. A great sunny day little later. The Early Birds ride out on the North Route went very well, even so the group size seams to get little smaller. At Cutchogue PyZahl got a hot coffee for the upcoming return... The Surface Wind: WNW 13mph let some painful long sections on the way back coming into his mind........


....... and just at the top of that little climb into the wind a little bit of lack of energy or was it power (?) his power maxed out (?), he just does not know, led to a gap and the wind made any attempts to hang on impossible for the last 5 miles :-( (most likely more conservative riding before would have prevented this from happening)

Still, pretty good moving:

Leaves falling on the Trail season

Summer is over. The good point, the crystal clear sky season is coming and for a while fall foliage is here and all trees are looking stunning picturesque. The not so nice point, the cold is coming with it along, days are getting significant shorter already, and later trees will look all so sad and gray.

But let's enjoy just comfortable riding temps so far and the smell of freshly fallen leaves...

PyZahl today did just one full complete with all the fun parts lap on his favorite trail in RP.


This is how it looked today, a nice packed and fast trail, just perfect, not dusty as rain two days ago perfectly packed it all.

He did a late 10-12 lap at reasonable good pace, but kept it easy going today. 1h50 including getting there from his house, then stopped by at Tildas Bake Shop on the way back home :-)

Whitmore's Landscaping Super Cross Cup Day 2 UCI C1

PyZahl did it again, Masters Men 35+ of "Whitmore's Landscaping Super Cross Cup Day 2 UCI C1". He had fun, felt very comfortable on the more challenging course (slower and more technical to his advantage) and got 13th. he is working on making a photos selection out of his over 1300 photos... that'll take some time, so check back later.

PyZahl GPS track log

And the results for day 2 at Cycling News




The 2nd race day schedule:

	CATEGORY	DISTANCE		START TIME	FEE	PRIZES
	Cat 3/4 Men	40	minutes	9:00 AM	$20	merch/3 places
	Cat 3/4 Women	30	minutes	9:00 AM	$20	merch/3 places
	Juniors 10-14	2	laps	9:00 AM	$5	merch/3 places
	Juniors 15-18	45	minutes	10:00 AM	$20	$200/5 places
	Masters Men 35+	45	minutes	10:00 AM	$20	$200/5 places
	Cat 2/3 Men	50	minutes	11:15 AM	$20	merch/5 places
	Elite Women	40	minutes	12:30 PM	$35	$2,009/25 places
	Kid's Challenge	2	laps	1:30 PM	$0	medals
	Elite/U23 Men	60	minutes	1:45 PM	$35	$2,009/25 places

Men, Women, U23's must have valid UCI license to participate. License available day of race. Must have birth certificate or valid passport to purchase. We reserve the right to combine fields with fewer than fifteen entrants, and adjust prize lists accordingly.

**Special prize list based on 30 riders. Smaller field will have adjusted purse.

Course: A 1.5 Mile loop around Southampton Youth Services Park.. Cyclo-cross technique demonstrations daily. Mountain bikes without bar ends permitted to start all NON-UCI fields. Kids' race will be on a short course designed for fun!!

Here a few photos of the second day, Cat 3/4 men, women, juniors:

Cat 2/3:

Slow motion enforcing turns...

Whitmore's Landscaping Super Cross Cup Day 1 UCI C1

A lot to say, awesome event, PyZahl had a lot of fun. Come back later again for more. GBs of data has to be processed.... later and PyZahl needs to prepare for day 2 of WLSCC.

So far: PyZahl's laps

And here from Cycling News the results.
Some more reading here at Cyclocrossworld.com.

And they messed up PyZahl's name to Perce :-[

To make a short story from a long extraordinary experience and day, he will tell it in very brief now:
Saturday morning, usual breakfast, loading all the equipment in the car, loading extra water and hydrating drinks and bars, driving to Southampton. Registering for the Masters 35+, getting a one day race license. Preparing for the race, some eating and drinking, warmup, checking out the course, i.e. riding a few laps. It is a great warm day and all looks fine.Chatting with friends. Warmup road ride and more hydrating, there is no time for feeding or drinking for the next 50 minutes. Lineup at the start and off they go.

The start sprint is fast and PyZahl figures quickly that this is one important part of the game as it sorts the riders for the first time and this may be crucial not to get stuck behind less skilled riders at the first technical section... as he experienced on the second day.

This is how the course looked like to the riders the first day:

The course started out on paved road, a short grass section, again a strait road run and a turn onto grass, fast moving on grass and a few turns on sandy bumps and patches followed by a long run on grass out to a little pile of loose sand and dirt to climb/run over, a dismount for almost everyone. Then a fast decent on grass towards a dip with some coarse gravel starting to climb a bit, tricky turn at the gate and the steep hard rate busting climb if not a dismount. This done a nice single trail section in the woods featuring a messy sandy turn. Coming out of the woods down the hill on grass to the 1st forced dismount at the double barrier which is to run/jump with the bike. A longer grassy ride and up the hill to the second forced dismount for two logs leading into the woods again followed by a trail section in the woods. Leaving the woods on grass to the start, beginning the second lap...

The sprint at every further lap and the long grassy run left worse every time and maxed out the heart rate, as the following climb did. The third lap and fourth lap was painful to the mind but with less laps to go from that it felt better again. Also he spotted just arrived friends supporting him -- that was great and gave a little extra motivation. Thanks for coming! PyZahl worked himself up a few places, as he lost time at the start sprint... Quite some new experiences from several points of view, and as he is not especially well trained for short intense activities, he was pretty happy with his result.

That done, a little refreshment at his car and changing into more comfortable outfit felt good.
The rest of the day was pure fun and great entertainment by the upcoming races of Cat 2/3 and the elite girls and boys... :-)

He took an almost unbelievable number of photos...

... until the last race was over and he made his way back home looking forward to an shower to get rid of all that dirt. That seamed so simple, but to his big surprise and anger he had to find out that there was a water main busted close to him home and not a single droplet of water was available that whole evening -- that sucks, really sucks -- can you imagine coming home from a race, all dirty and then that? He needed to relax, to cook, to wash closes, to prepare for the next day, and now? He had to bake a new bread -- he started that, hoping for the best... 7pm... 8pm.... 9pm.... nothing. That sucks. He got back to his car and drove to the Camp to have a shower and get some water on the way home. Is that fortune?

****

Here is the race day schedule:

	CATEGORY	DISTANCE		START TIME	FEE	PRIZES
	Cat 3/4 Men	40	minutes	11:00 AM	$20	merch/3 places
	Cat 3/4 Women	30	minutes	11:00 AM	$20	merch/3 places
	Juniors 10-14	2	laps	11:00 AM	$5	merch/3 places
	Juniors 15-18	45	minutes	12:00 PM	$20	$200/5 places
	Masters Men 35+	45	minutes	12:00 PM	$20	$200/5 places
	Cat 2/3 Men	50	minutes	1:15 PM	$20	merch/5 places
	Elite Women	40	minutes	2:30 PM	$35	$4,250/30 places**
	Elite/U23 Men	60	minutes	3:45 PM	$35	$4,250/30 places

Men, Women, U23's must have valid UCI license to participate. License available day of race. Must have birth certificate or valid passport to purchase. We reserve the right to combine fields with fewer than fifteen entrants, and adjust prize lists accordingly.

******

Alright, PyZahl managed to sight all the photos he took, so
here are a few photos, more are to be found at the usual place.

Master 35+

Cat 3/4 Men/Women/Juniors

Cat 2/3 men

Cat 2/3 men

Elite womens

Elite men