Saturday at the Suncoast

Alex & I drove down to Tampa Bay on Friday so that we could join Sharon Saturday afternoon at the reunion of the Suncoast Youth Ranch. This was a church group from the '70s and while I met some of the folks when Sharon and I were dating, there were some I knew nothing about, other than what Sharon described to me. In like manner, they had heard something about Alex and me from Sharon, now that she has reconnected with so many via Facebook, and she wanted them to meet us too. It was an interesting and enjoyable gathering. A wide range of talents and professions was represented. A common thread running through many of the stories was the twisting and turning that life's pathways held for each one, and how they have in general found their way back to a solid base. The food was delicious, the singing by Kitty and Ruth exquisite (and very accomplished piano playing by Stan) and the fun contagious.

Part of the plan was to squeeze in a morning ride before the reunion so I packed a bike. Despite dire predictions of a deluge for the day by various weather "experts," it was only breezy and overcast at 8 AM on Saturday, when the Suncoast Cycling club weekend ride was scheduled to depart of the parking lot of Chainwheel Drive on US19/Tampa Rd. I invited Irene who is just getting into cycling (a Haro Rail Trail bike) to meet me there so I could introduce her to the "C" group riders. While the parking lot filled with over 2 dozen race kit clad, skinny tired carbon bike types with top tier Giro helmets, Irene and I were the only "C" riders! While waiting for her to arrive, I told Ray, the ride leader (as I signed the club liability waiver) I would ride with the quicker group should Irene be a no-show. He looked at my bike (70's steel crit racer with 32mm tires, leather saddle, large saddlebag, mustache handlebars) and said, "on that!?!" Maybe it was the platform pedals and my Addidas Samba soccer sneakers? "If I can't hang with you, it won't be because of the bike," I replied. I rued the fact that there were no 20% grades in FL (like we have in Prattville) that I could drop his smart-*** on while he would probably be off his bike and duck walking up the hill in his "Look" cleated shoes. (I no longer even stand on those climbs. I don't race up 'em, but I stay in the saddle.)


Happily, Irene showed up, and she and I took off by ourselves on the route map. Ray mentioned to Irene that a collection of comfort bike riders met often at 8:30 in a Publix parking lot, so I hope she checks that out. We headed west on Tampa Rd towards the Pinellas Rail Trail. There were honest to goodness bike lanes to use! Turning north on the trail, we came across a gal standing with her bike. I asked if she needed help, and she replied that she was just waiting for the "C" group. "We're it!" we said, and Ann joined us on our ride. Here we all are at the park by Anclote Power Station.
























We were given business cards by a fellow there who lost his regular job after a motorcycle crash, and now gave drunks and broken down cyclists rides home. He blamed aid to the Haitians for taking away from his benefits, but when Ann gently asked, "Were you wearing a helmet when you crashed?" he had to accept SOME responsibility for the head injuries (he showed us his scar) that interfered with his career as an equipment operator. We looked briefly at the water in the background to see if there were manatees about, but were told they recently had moved out into the channel.

Ann is a local and gave us a neat neighborhood streets tour through back roads Tarpon Springs, and took her leave of us as we returned to the place where she originally joined up. Irene and I stopped to see the primates who have retired to a care facility adjacent to the trail, and here is a picture she took of me with some new friends.



















The wind coming back was brisk. Flags were standing out straight in the breeze, and Irene asked me if that was 20 mph of 20 kts. It made no difference. It was a brisk headwind. Not a drop of rain though fell on us and we returned to the parking lot after our 27.7 miles in the same time as the speedwagons did 41 miles. We got a close look at a bald eagle and its eaglet however, as well as ospreys and egrets. The fast crowd got a look at the lycra-butts on the bikes in front of them and not much more. You sight see in a pace line and you wreck. I hope Irene stays with it. Ruth and Nancy both said last night they might also like to start riding. If any of you people make it to Prattville.....

A lot of driving for a day in F-L-A, but it was sure worth it.

Tailwinds.

My 1st Populaire, sort of

I rode hill repeats this week after work, 25 miles of them, but was looking forward to a real road ride this morning. Jack Frost has taken a week's vacation, and temps have been in the 60s during the afternoons. Today was forecast to start out in the 40s, but get near 70 before yielding to incoming rains. These would be followed by our regular Winter programming of cold, cold, cold. John & John from the bike club posted a Club Lite of 30 miles for today and I figured I'd show up for that. It would be good to say hello to some faces not seen since the Christmas party, and not seen on the road since before Thanksgiving.

That was all before Frank emailed to say, "Let's do at least 50, but I prefer a Metric." His email sounded like my old drill sergeant in basic training. Frank is a retired Master Sgt, so maybe that's why. Frank is also our club's sole card carrying Randonneur ( see www.rusa.org for more on randonneuring) so I recast his club metric as a "Populaire."  Randonneurs like looooonngggg rides, with lots of rules and checkpoints, and maps and stuff. Populaires are their intro rides for the fresh blood, the uninitiated, or relaxers for when the real riders don't want to go 200KM, 300KM or more on any given ride. Yes, there are 1,200KM rides. These longer rides are called Brevets. Anyway, I consulted the rules and figured our required times to the 3 rest stops (checkpoints) we would be at today.It was kind of fun to record our arrival and departures on a card I carried for the purpose.

I wasn't sure how the day would go. It's cloudy, windy, and damp. The temp was 47F at the start and 52F when we were done. But, it went just fine. We headed out generally into the wind and came back with it generally behind us. The day tallied at 63.4 miles at an avg of 14.2. For Randonneurs, rest times count too. We had 6:15 hr to complete the course, and we did it in 5:10. Our only mechanical was when Frank's finger rested idly on his handlebar and accidentally unfastened his Garmin Edge GPS. THAT he had to turn around and go find.

Our longest stop was at the Ramer Store. We didn't stay long becuase it was colder standing around off the bikes than riding on them. Just long enough to re fill our bottles, eat a banana, and much some granola bars.  Here we are parked out front, while Frank puts water in his CamelBack.



The sharp eyed among you will notice the OYB saddle bag with ACW pin on it. The saddle bag worked great. If it looks like Army surplus, that's because it IS Army surplus. We just don't know exactly WHICH army though. Frank suggested the Swiss, as they have a bicycle corps.

The ride itself was over generally familiar terrain. One portion was not quite so fresh in mind. Ridden only once before, about 6 years ago, we had to check the Garmin map to get our bearings and stay on the 100KM route and not the 200KM.  The regular club riders were out too, leaving shortly after we did. I relaized that I must have picked up some speed since last year, as they were content to paceline behind ME on the headwind leg south to Union Academy- Ada Rd. I didn't mind it at all, it just made me smile. They rode a different route today, and were earger to be done and out of the weather. I told Bilee (one of the regular club riders)  that was a different way to look it than Frank and my attitude. We looked for ways to add to our ride. Of course, we had warmer gear on too. Wool baselayers top and bottom for me, a Spot (Canadian brand) L/S jersey, mid weight tights, a Gore Wind proof jacket (that still breathes) and MUSA shorts over the tights. Bigger shoes to allow for thick wool socks with air space too. Frank was similarly suited up. As you can see in the picture.

The Bike was great. 650B Maxy Fasty tires (33mm) floated over rough chip seal and RR crossings. I spent just about all the way out in the middle ring and all the way back in the big one. Amazing what a tailwind will do for you! I knew when climbing hills at 18 mph, it was NOT my gearing making that difference. The shifters were adjusted following my bike mechanics class refresher and they were smooth as silk.

Rain tomorrow, so time for maintenance in the garage.  If you ride, ride safe...

Happy MMX

Thanks to Ward for the really GOOD name for the new year. So much better than twenty-ten or two-oh-one-oh or two thousand ten. And what better way to spend it than seeing some of the countryside from the seat of a 2 wheeler? The rains of this morning moved on out in time for the noon advertised start of this ride. I wondered how many holiday revelers might stagger into their bike clothes and get a start on all those resolutions. A glance at this picture of the assembly point parking lot yields our answer:
Yes. The only vehicle there is my GMC.  Frank pedaled here from the next town over. He ran late due to headwinds. I asked him again, "are you SURE you want to do 50 today?" To be honest, I would have been happy with less at that point in time. Frank was still up for the full monte of miles so off we went. Uphill and into the wind. For 20 miles. I kept telling myself, "Just think how great it will be when you get a tailwind!" It was a while before that happened, because after 20 miles dead into it, we ran another 5 with it quartering us. Finally, we turned south and had a spanker breeze for the 6 mile run to Old Kingston.  We made only two rest stops and here is a pic from the 1st one.

Frank looks like he's just ridden out of a Terminator movie, doesn't he? He pushes that decked out Surly LHT (generator hub, spoke lights and counterweights, Dinotte lights and batteries! Wild trekking bars) at around 30 mph on the flats when the spirit moves him. No way I can keep up. Thankfully, I can catch him on the uphills. When he lets me. We did a bit over 2,800' today with grades ranging from 2 to 12 percent. The wind was tiring, but once we had it at the tail, we were cruising at 20 - 25 mph pretty easily. We ran at only 11 - 13 into it. Slower than that up some of the hills!
   It was a steady 47 all day, but with the wind chill, it felt like, oh Absolute Zero. My feet were warmer today, as I remembered the shoe covers. It was still good to linger inside at our store stop (the second stop was the only open store we hit) and feel my limbs come back to life. Once the Sun started to set, I definitely felt more a chill. Triple wool layering did a good job at keeping things bearable even when sweat soaked.
 So, I'm in the top 100 on BikeJournal.com, if only for 30 seconds. If I was a faster thinker, I'd have grabbed a screen shot. Oh well, maybe I'll remember next year.
  I hope everyone gets all the miles they want this year, that each one is safe, and next New Year's finds us thankful for what we will have enjoyed in MMX. You too, Ward.

Tailwinds

Cold Weather Odds & Ends

I hope everyone had a good Hanukkah or Christmas, as is appropriate. Ours was pretty quiet. Sharon and Alex made it home on Christmas Eve from Tampa, where they disembarked off a Caribbean liner. They went with her folks and some others to Cayman and Cozumel. Having used all my vacation earlier in the year, I went to work instead. To be honest, a week surrounded by spectacular food and isolated from any bike riding did not sound good to one who has worked hard to drop 30 ish lbs since June and who lives for that next outing on 2 wheels. By all accounts, the seafarers enjoyed their trip, and were as glad to be home afterward as I was to have them back safe and sound.

I've been riding a fairly regular schedule. After work, with front and rear lights, I do laps of our block twice a week. Our block is a 1 mile loop with 59' of climb. So 15 laps takes a bit over an hour most days and yields 15 miles and 885' of climb. Boring yes, but way better in my book than the same length of time on rollers in the garage. Colder, but it is REAL. On Saturdays, one or two others will still join me for a "club" ride, even though most club members are off their bikes until Spring. Yesterday, 3 of us did approximately 40 miles in 32F temps. (I will mention here that the absence of pictures from these rides has more to do with trying to stay warm than anything else.) It was cloudy, but the air was calm, and we were generally pretty comfortable. We rode for a little over 2 hours, and after the first hour, my feet started to get cold. I have shoe covers, but always fail to bring them! Some new gloves which were an Xmas gift from Sharon's mom worked really well. They are lined with Thinsulate and have wool outer shells. That let's them stay warm, even when wet with sweat. Not cycling specific, but sold at Penney's. Here's a link:  http://tinyurl.com/ydpn444  They are extremely comfortable to wear and have a suede patch on the palm right where you grip the handlebar. Above 40F, I would wear my lighter weight Ibex wool gloves though: http://www.ibexwear.com/shop/product/1441/8990/unisex-knitty-gritty-glove. For the rest of the get-up: Top base layer was turtle neck long sleeve wool by Joneswares under a vintage Italian short sleeve wool jersey with a Sugoi wind proof jacket. The bottom was wool boxers (with the undershirt pulled down low enough to make a wind screen) under wool Joneswares shorts under Pearl Izumi winter tights. (No pad in the shorts or tights). Feet had Costco wool socks inside Nike Basketball High Top leather sports shoes. Needed shoe covers!

Last weekend I had the chance to try out the new crankset set up on the Rambouillet. It worked well, and will stay on a while longer. I'll try to get out this afternoon and do the loop around town which includes a short section of 20% grade. That will probably require standing to pedal with the new gear ratios. Previously, I could climb it seated while using the inner ring of a triple. I've been practicing climbs out of the saddle, which do not feel natural to me. They tire my quads quickly, so I've worked on foot position, balance, weight distribution and muscle use (using the back of my legs too) to make it more effective and less tiring. We have some surprise company coming through town today, and we'll meet by the interstate for lunch after church. An old friend of Sharon's is passing by with her family on their way home to FL from TN. It will be good to meet them and spend the time together, and there should still be opportunity following lunch to circumnavigate Prattville. It may even be above freezing by then!

My revised riding goals for the year were 3,000 miles and 100,000' of climbing. Both have been exceeded and I am happy about that. For 2010, I'd like to get back to 3,500 miles, 125,000' and ride in at least 3 new venues. One I hope will be the BikeJournal.com Reunion in Waynesboro, VA around Labor Day. Another will be next month in FL when we travel for a Suncoast Youth Ranch get together. (I'll pack a bike and slip out in the morning with the Suncoast Cycling Club in Palm Harbor or the St. Pete Club down by the Yacht Club.)  The 3rd may be "Biking Bleckley" near Cochran GA in late February. No new bikes in the forecast for 2010. None were added in '09 either. I really like the 4 that I have. Each is a pleasure in it's own way. It's a good bet though that bike parts will be shifted around and tried in different places. Bags in particular. I am always trying for the "best" bag set up. The thing is, it really doesn't matter. All of them hold what I need, and I can always make a change for a specific ride requirement. That doesn't deter me from moving them around though to see what shapes and colors work best together. It keeps me out of trouble, I suppose.

Gray, gray , go away!

Another cold, damp, rainy, gray day today. I suppose I may submit to the jonesing and ride in it this afternoon, but as I enjoy some morning coffee in the early hours, it's a less than exciting prospect. I was able to get out Thursday evening after work and get in 15 miles. I tried the same thing earlier in the week, but just felt too cold and not "into" it, giving up after only 6 miles. Thursday was okay and I was glad to have gone, at least once I was warmed up, which took almost 4 miles. My legs NEED the work, more than anything else. I learned on the MS 150 ride back in October that if you are properly dressed for it, rain is not all that bothersome. It does make a mess of your bike though. I wore a summer weight rain jacket on the MS 150 ride, and since then have received a very good "Showers Pass Touring Jacket." This came at a reasonable price from Beth H up in the PNW, who is a fellow Rivendell list-er and who could not make the jacket fit her comfortably. Beth works at a bike shop and often has great stuff to pass on, as she updates her own stash. Although the jacket looks too big on me, it feels just right. It's the yellow one in the picture. Enough air circulates underneath to prevent sweat build up and there are enough zipper vents for proper temperature control. The picture is from last weekend. It was 37F at the "North Pole" or Heritage Park, as it is also called. Gray and windy too. One foot got very cold. The other one not so much. The laces may have been too tight on the one shoe, restricting air space inside.

Yesterday, I puttered around the house hoping the weather would break. A letter to a pen-pal in Israel was started. (note to self: finish letter to Eric) I cleared out all the ironing which had accumulated. (I don't like un-ironed permanent press items. they still look wrinkled to me) I went out in the garage and removed the Sugino XD triple crankset from the Rivendell Rambouillet. It's been on for 5,000 miles and it was happy to remain there, so some "persuading" was needed to extract the arms from the bottom bracket. (I had to use a hammer on the extractor handle) Some eBay prowling has yielded two nice old cranksets. One was a take off from a '90-ish Bridgestone RB-1 (B'Stone's top line road race bike of that day) a Sugino GX double. The XD has very wide crank arms and a huge Q-Factor. ("Quack" factor. How duck like the thing makes you pedal) This is excellent for a mountain bike, but not so necessary on a road machine. It's the widest Q of any of the bikes in our garage. The GX on the other hand, is race narrow. It's a classic 53/39 in gearing, so I give up a lot of bottom end to the XD which features a 26 inner ring. In effort level, (measured by "gear-inches" which is the length in inches that the bike rolls forward when you spin the cranks through one revolution) this new 39 is about the same as the 34 on the Nashbar's compact double. That's because the Nashbar is running a 650B tire while the Rambouillet has a smaller 26" tire. A "normal" 700C road wheel on the compact crank (50/34 gears) yields a gear inch range of 33" - 110" based on 700x 25 mm tires. On the Ram, the 53/39 will provide 34.7" - 106" both using the Ultegra 12-27 9 speed cassette. Since I don't haul loads with the Ram, this should make both bikes about equal in effort to ride. And I like the comfort of the Rivendell model a lot more. The former crank provided 23" - 96". More low gearing than I really need now, and not enough top end to stay with the peloton on group rides. There is an expense: I'm giving up more bottom end than I gain in top end. On the other hand, the double weighs less than the triple (duh) and is better looking. Clean and elegant and with a narrower (more efficient) pedal placement. I also re-installed the Power Grips to the pedals so that I can use the full circle for pedal stroke. Losing 30 lbs (since June) has made hills easier of course, and now I'd like to work on form and technique for better flat riding as well.

Swapping out crank sets is not just a matter of replacing the parts. The front derailleur had to be relocated higher up on the seat tube, so that meant undoing the shifter cable, moving the part, then aligning it with the new equipment and reconnecting the cable. There was JUST enough cable to make this work, phew! very close. Projects sometimes get more involved than you think they will. I didn't want to have to re cable the bike, at least not before I was able to test this new set up and decide that it was a keeper! The front derailleur is a Shimano 105 triple and it manages the double just fine. If the new crank stays though, a double Ultegra front will take over shifting duties. As it is, if I get forgetful, I can easily dump the chain off to the inside where there is no longer a small ring to catch it. While the XD is off the bike, it will get a good cleaning as well. It may go back on or it make go on eBay or the RBW Owners list in case someone wants it for their new project.

If the darn RAIN will quit, I may be able to try out the new set up!

The other crankset coming in is a way cool looking very early Shimano 600 50/40 double. This is late 70s vintage and an homage sort of to the French TA Specialties and Stronglight styles. For real racers, there is too much flex in the crank owing to the close to center location of the ring bolts, of which there are only 3. But it might be fun anyway. On the Nashbar, which currently has a Campy Veloce compact double, it would yield a gear-inch range of 36" - 106" up from it's current 31" bottom. This is my "Sunday Gentleman's Bicycle" only and I don't use it for steep hills, so looks count for more than utility here. With mustache bars, ample saddle bag and yesteryear appearance, it is a Tweed Rider's machine.

Okay, enough for now. Tailwinds to you folks NOT inside due to weather.