Cross Training, Winter alternatives and troubled Waters

Last days Py got back to alternative additional or part substitutional training. Still riding to/from the Camp Monday and Tuesday and adding the lunch time run "Bluestone 10k" on the Camps back roads to his schedule. This run in particular, just his second run (he stated running again just the week before) since the LI Corporate Challenge 3 1/5mi run..., turned w Terry into some pretty fast one with increasing pace to the end -- no precise timing, but he was back under 40min and had fun getting up the stairs after that one... and still had to ride home his bike at the end of the day just before sun set, what surprisingly was less troublesome than expected after all that -- the bike muscles seamed left unimpressed :-)

Regardless -- on Wednesday he took it easy and used his four wheeled steel enclosed gasoline powered four stroke engine equipped vehicle to reach the Camp. It was a nice day. He intended to do some swimming in the pool but missed the 1st lap swim time slot and decided to do a just before sun set swim at his favorite beach "WRB" at the LI Sound -- may be the last one out there for the season. The water was surprisingly warm and there were some good waves coming in from East. Py is not the best fish so far and just starts to work on his skills to do this right and some how efficient. Some breast strokes mixed with some it may get into crawl some time... but so far more splashing and swallowing salt water... However, 20min splashing around several laps parallel to the beach into and with the waves made him a bit tiered and he got out and quickly got to his towel... as the air was not so warm any longer.

On his drive home he just wanted to get a few grocery items form the near by KK, but as there that day were only old left overs of veggies and other "non-fresh" items left, even he tried hard to find reasonable fresh things and so wasted time and spend way tooooo long in this freaking cold section, that's seamed not helping either keeping things fresh but as it turned out later made Py little sick as he still was not fully dry on his head and only had a Tee on, argrrrr.

Next day NOAA called for rain at end of day lasting into the whole weekend, also Py did felt an upcoming cold -- stupid KK -- and on Friday he stayed in his bed most of the day -- sick o-(

Saturday he felt much better, still very wet warm, humid and raining heavy at times. Decided to go for an easy swimming and crawl experiment into the warm pool at the Camp... that was very nice, even he swallowed more water (and Cl chemical this time -- he honestly prefers salt water to that), some GXSM hacking and chilln' for the rest of the day.

Py is not a fish... but some humans try to... may be some time he gets a bit closer?


Studying swimming techniques....

And BTW -- no Birds for Py tomorrow, rain or shine -- still not back to 100%.

Eight Birds

Early Sunday morning once again Py got up a quarter to five, it was still all dark. Preparing breakfast -- he got a bit upset about his egg, as it popped open while cooking and all the yellow came out. Well getting ready, he initially planned on driving to the start, but as he was ready by 6:30am and it was already enough light to ride -- sun rise would be in about nine minutes -- he decided to ride to the start again, it should turn into a great comfortable day, later so. Did not felt to cold outside, reading 13C at his porch, he put a long sleeved jersey on top.

What he not yet noticed at his place, there was a lot of mist in the air coming down or evaporating just that time of the day. Moving faster -- more wind chill, and this wind chill was one of the worsed he ever felt. That evaporation cooling works really great, but made him shivering, fingers freezing and toes getting cold -- unbelievable -- looking forward to reach the start and warming up a bit at the "Golden Bow".

Not far from the start, but not yet there it looked like this, stopping really felt good, as with no wind he nicely warmed up a very tiny bit.

From Early Birds

At the start a few were already there. Two more shivering riders came riding to the start, suffering the same cold experience. However, it will warm up soon. In the meantime a total of eight birds showed up, a small good group -- as the "Tour de Hamptons" was the same day. They decided on North, should be warmer.

7:34 already, time to roll....

A good stable pace soon developed and they efficiently rode into the more rising sun, still a bit chilly, but already much better. They basically just stopped shortly after the tanks run and for some reason skipped the Deli stop and kept going, until T got a flat at the last section.

From Early Birds

From there the usual fast uphill section and a flying pace with constant rotation (sprint to the front) developed and they came back the parking. Just one newer bird got little behind shortly after the hill but made it back in a few minutes later. A perfect team ride. A good time -- they made it back by 10:11.

Ride Statistics -- group average of 37.6km/h:

Just a getaway into the woods once in a while

A great day for a MTB ride and to hide from all the craziness on the roads... just in time he found his renewal of his DEC permit yesterday in the snail mail box. And with that Py went for a nice Rocky Point ride -- flying low over the trail.

Very low to no bike traffic, nice fast trail, just a few sandy sand boxes as usual :-)

Easy 1h43' full w all blacks loop pace non stop.

RP2IPBP variant - late ride - tropical winds

Py was ready for the EBs this morning, but did not liked the very wet road conditions and light rain around 6am so much. However, around noon the sun made it out, minor road were still quite wet and the very high humidity and warm South-West-Winds just helped drying thr roads off at more sun exposed and open section. However, the ride out East on his RP2IPBP variante today was fast with Cross/Tail winds. Here out at IPBP:




And the little ride stats for today:

... and a stop at WRB for a little cool down and swim ;-)

Stupid design or assembly

We nite hill ride was on Py's plan today again. He had exactly 15min from putting his shoes on to catch up with the We nite hill ride group on the 25/WadingRiverManor Rd crossing... so he sprinted out of the Camp all the way and took a virtual chase of an virtual rider at warp speed going east on 25 with just 6min left to go after winding out of the Camp and flying over the short Cross part... hitting over 40km/h for a good stretch. Just getting the light on 25 in sight the group passed over quite exact 15min after he started out o-( Just catching the last green he passed cars and turned in WRM Rd, no one noticed him so far, even yelling from too far away :-(
Alright... FullSpeedAhead the virtual chase turned into a real one for about little over one mile until he caught them and could ease up to comfortable speed just hanging on for a while to recover.
But not for long, down hill on North Country into Wading River, turning at some speed into Remsen up hill. Taking the lead for the first uphill while one rider passed and took over -- but he is hanging on and pulled over to the front again at the last up hill on this 1st section of the hill sprint and finished leading all the very fast run down to WildWood SP. Climbing back following and taking over again... repeat on NC up to RP... a good fast pull.
Somehow he still has soem uncomfortable pressure on his feets, just where the cleats are, this came slowly and seam to worsen lately -- some thing seam wrong with the shoes -- really no fun.

Back home he had a deeper look into it:



Quite some gap and missing support just in the center behind the cleat mount and a under pressure quite uneven surface (may be slowly shifted over time??) -- that sucks and needs to be fixed. Cleaning it all off fixing the unsupported holes behind and left/right of the mount with a two layers of double sided 3M padded tape and realigning that original padding on top it now looks and feels all smooth again:



Has to be tested.

Early Birds South - never the same

Return to the Early Birds, the last official summer season ride as tomorrow, Monday, is Labor Day already.

This morning Py was not feeling so great, as the evening before there was a good BBQ and he eat little too much... but after a few bathroom sessions he felt much better, did not felt like eating anything, so skipped breakfast and only had an Cappuccino. Just before getting out and on the bike he figured an banana may be good to get at least a little bite. Fresh air at 6:30am and a very easy ride to the start -- the sun was still at or below the horizon, little chilly but looking like a great day for an ride. Close the Manorville KK ride start -- still a good amount of time left, he joined T for an Coffee and some multi grain bagel, that helped feeling better.

From Early Birds

With a few minutes left he rode over to the KK parking lot and joined a already pretty numerous group of riders.

From Early Birds

A few minutes late they moved out South and slowly picked up a decent pace, averaging about 36km/h until just before hitting Dune Road a little prolonged flat stop stopped the move...





Flying as usual on Dune Road with hitting 50km/h for several times... Py was working hard, may be too hard a couple of times having fun in that "Belgium Circle" like game or a little variant??, where on the right riders are moving fast passing riders on left -- they protect the fast riders from wind -- and once in front slowly falling back to the end at the left to repeat game and pick up speed again on the right... however, things are not perfect, as some riders just trying to hang on at the end and a spot to move into the passing row has to be picked. Fun fast moving for several miles. Repeating that fast take over rides several times Py run a bit early low of energy or what so ever, may be because of the non optimal pre ride day... However, they also were going at quite some speed, as the initial group got stretched and bunched up, he found himself with just a one or two miles to go for the bridge in between the very fast head and the bunch behind...

Just at the bottom of the bridge still on Dune Rd some of the head group were stopped for one more mechanical or flat, he does not know exactly what happened. Passing by going up the bridge, looking back and waiting for an photo opportunity -- what is usually rare at this nice spot:



One more waiting for the group, just visible far down the bridge here:



Here a nice one of the "head group" left behind.



Oho... putting back the camera, Py had to huddle up to hang on and well, he just got around the corner as the big group just started out for the second section. And just been over on the other side of the South Fork one more flat wait up...



From then on pretty fast moving and one catch up sprint within a little bunch of just three riders, as they got left behind at an turn getting stuck on the wrong side of the road because of unusual heavy traffic. Averaging 38.9km/h on that whole section until the Seven Eleven. From there the group was flying back to the start with just 37km/h again...

A different ride, lots of speed variations... the good thing, it is never the same and never gets boring so far.

Ride stats including the easy section to and from home. Easy - Fast - Easy.

D2R2 2008 - Report

The 4th Annual
Deerfield Dirt Road Randonée (D2R2)
will be held on August 23, 2008
in conjunction with the
Deerfield Farm Festival

New Location 1 mile south of Historic Old Deerfield.

Quoting the official ride description:

"This RUSA populaire is breathtaking in both senses of the word: 109 miles, 70% on dirtroads, with 11,300 feet of climbing. A more-moderate 100K ride will leave at 9:00 AM, while a gentle 35-mile Tour of the Green River leaves at 11:00 AM. All rides start and finish 1 mile south of Historic Old Deerfield Village. Everything about this ride is extraordinary; over 12 years of planning by Randonneur Saunders Whittlesey went into this event. Riders will enjoy a fabulous network of secret backroads and horse-cart lanes through some of the most scenic and historic areas of western Massachusetts and southern Vermont. The constantly twisting route is often only one lane wide. Rest stops with refreshments will be staffed by area volunteers.

Stone walls line the roads far more than double-yellow lines. There are dozens of maple-tree 'allees,' over 20 miles of rushing streams, four covered bridges, and countless farms, fields, and forests. Riders may expect hours of cycling without a single car passing.

The lunch-break checkpoint is a little park with a National-Historic covered bridge, timber-crib dam, and swim hole.

Bicycles should be equipped with triple gearing and slightly wider tires (i.e. 25c-32c). Road conditions range from smooth clay to stony washout and puddles. Seven key climbs reach 1400-2000' elevation, and 16 smaller pitches exceed 13% gradient, including a 25% wall. At mile 90, riders will tackle the hidden back side of the lovely Patten Hill District: starting at 20% grade, the road narrows to a bumpy 8' lane and ascends 960 feet vertical in 1.5 miles to a grand overlook toward Vermont."

Simply put:
Who does not know the ride, should go for it next year and find out. In brief, it is over 12,000ft of climbing, mostly (70%) dirt road and some rough and though up (up to 25% incline on dirt) and down hills (on loose rough stuff), fast and fun turns and straits to just let it go on the down hill...., on a 170km coarse (without detours).


This year Py signed up for it again. Still a few minor oddities... and just two riders from the Island (as far as Py knows them) were participating the RUSA 170k.
Py this time went with parents up at Deerfield, MA the day before. Also J went up the same time and they meet again at the RR Inn in South Deerfield, checked out the starting location and went for a good preride dinner at the Northampton Brewery.

D2R2 2008 report

Rising early the next day at 4am and getting to the start and registration shortly after 5am. Still pretty dark and little light at the little tent at the start. But a good variety of breakfast and coffee was waiting -- Py has to say, that was the best of all the food he had seen this day at the ride, perfect for a good start - big compliments for that, very convenient! At 6am he was ready to go, but some how did not saw J in the dusk, he saw him a while ago at the registration... Little confusion came up, however, they planned for the 6am start optionally and the 6:15 as a go. So he waited and let the first group go. Still no J, he checked his car and found it empty. Strange. However, Py let his start time resign to 6:15 and went with the smaller 6:15 group.
Just a few riders and there were a few very miss leading yellow flags on a (wrong!! -- well, turned out to be the 100k route marking... not the 170k) right turn at a bridge shortly after the start - Py was pretty uncertain if that turn was right, but the marks were there and (all) the riders went there and seamed to be sure about the turn, even he asked... but after 3 miles uphill, concerns came up and they returned -- and many more small groups of riders got into the same trap... 6 extra miles -- that started out great.
However, back on the right track a great fast group self assembled -- moving pretty good up and down hill, that was fun and he almost forgot about missing J. Signed in at the 1st Water /Snack Stop (8:09 at Steady Ln, 20.0mi (+6mi for Py)) and found J been there. So he must have started assuming Py in the 6am field.
Py was hanging on and also moving ahead with the fast group, especially flying down hill with his Stonebite Cross bike. One more small water stop #2 and #1 Checkpoint Heath at 9:31 (35.9mi). Having a hard time keeping up on the very few flats and paved sections, catching up on the steeps and climbs and passing on the down hills... that was fun. Several miles before the 2nd Checkpoint Green River Covered Bridge he passed several riders and a group fixing a flat, arriving at this Checkpoint or 3rd water stop at 11:51 at 64.9mi (+6mi). J must have just arrived there also, as he run into him just at the turn into the rest area, how good! Py mad up 15 minutes + (extra 6mi) in time on J. From then on they stayed together. Little slower average moving, especially as Py could mover faster downhill still with good bike control on rough terrain due to his bike setup. A set of good climbs and downhills... One in between stop for cold water at the Colrain Supergas Store (at 91.65mi). A nice easy ride on pavement following a steep starting and long climb up Patten Hill to the last water stop #4 and Checkpoint #3 on Tower Rd. Almost done. 13mi to go, mostly down hill. Just a few minor climbs to be done, one fun -- very rought for roadies ;-) -- downhill at the very end before hitting pavement again lasting all the way to the finish at mile 111.75 (+6) at 16:40.

No missed turns at all (except the very fist confusion with the 100km route mark), very good this time, turns were marked by little yellow flags on the side of the road into the turn, that was a great help and improvement over last year, even he had his GPS set up for navigation (using the same old track he used last year, not including the start and a little different beginning, but working fine from mile 20 or so). Only issue, this stupid GPS stopped recording the track after an attempt to set an lap mark at the 1st water stop, however the navigation worked just fine to the finish. So, no complete ride data -- who cares.

Good old style ride logging:




Some photos at all the water stops:






A few remarks and comments and complains -- hopefully some on of the organizers will rethink it for next year:

Very good: Well set up breakfast at start, good job! But there were a few things... Py needs to tell also...
he did not liked the start/finish location on that dusty field so much, even it was closer from there to get 'n route. But most dissatisfactory was the fast food served at the finish -- no more comments -- these guys organizing bike ride should know what is reasonable food. And last, good Py was more or less self sufficient, the food and drinks at the water stops were not as good equipped as last time, only [nasty] Gatorade powder [ o-( ] was available for drinks. No energy, etc... bars -- at least he did not found some. OK, good enough, there were bananas, melon slices, sandwiches, PB&J, cheese -- works. Also no T-shirt included as 2007 :-(


All the riders and support people were as awesome as usual, so the whole things was a lot of fun and the weather was just as perfect.

And finally: a big thanks to all the volunteers!