Rain Would be Good

After a cold winter and chilly/rainy Spring, Summer has been unrelentingly hot and fairly dry. While afternoon T-Storms have cris crossed the state, they have so far avoided my yard. Hence it's dry and sere look. Hope springs eternal though. Even as I write this entry (While SVR plays"Little Wing" on Youtube in the background.) a mass of white thunderheads is visible to the East. The heat has not however stopped us from riding. Yet.

Today's original plan was for me to head 2 1/2 hr NE to Franklin Ga and ride in the Blazing Saddles Century. I got up at 2 AM to make the trip (1hr time zone change, and need to get breakfast en route, as well as change clothes there) So, I went to bed at 8 PM last night and had my usual 6 hr of sleep upon rising. When I got up, I just didn't feel spunky. After a little coffee and some time to fully waken, I affirmed that I was not ready to drive, ride, and drive home on a trip of this scale. Discretion being the better part of valor, as some say, I chose instead to meet our local club down in Pintlala for a 6:30 start. A nice group of people, and I haven't seen them in a while anyway. John C mapped out 33 miles of rollers and that's what we did. A brief ride yes, but the humidity was above 90% and the temp started at 80 and went up from there. It made conditions quite challenging. We hit the ride with gusto and I ended up over 16 avg speed and climbed 1,475'. A few pictures:

Here's the group heading south on CR 19. John C is the one visible from space.




Here, we're engaged in our favorite in ride activity. Resting and eating. You'll notice no one is young. It would be nice to get some kids interested in riding. We may not be fast but we do have some good experiences to share.



After I got home to a very quiet house (Sharon is teaching for 2 weeks in FL and Alex is visiting the love of his life for a week in OK) I cleaned myself up and made lunch, then headed on out into the garage. The Laundry cabinet project generated excess shelving, which I put up in the garage today.



A pretty full day. Tomorrow, after church, despite threats of 102F, I intend to get a little easy ride in as well.

Tailwinds.

Tuskegee - Notasulga

Instead of a Saturday ride last week, The H's piled into the land schooner and drove 2 1/2 hrs to the closest IKEA store, which happens to be in clogged, congested, downtown Atlanta, GA. It was an all day affair, and I felt like we were travelers stranded without correct papers at some foreign airport, desperately trying to get our luggage and get home. The merchandise was all very thoughtfully designed and priced right. The utter lack of help available or detailed information on what you need to actually buy/build it much less so. If you've never been to this place, imagine a triple decker Home Depot dedicated to furniture and accessories, and almost entirely set up as a do-it-yourself scenario. Anyway, the day was fully used in securing what we needed for a cabinet project in the laundry room, and wrestling all 32 packages into the car, and then into our garage to await installation. Right next to the still carton-ed dryer.

The intervening week saw a 6:00 AM ride on Sunday morning with friend Bob and his friend Curt. Just 16 miles in 55 minutes and back home to clean up in time for church. No after work hill drill riding this week, due to volunteer shifts at our church Vacation Bible School. I did get to LOOK at two of my bikes though. They were used as motif decoration ("Race to the Finish") and I wore TdF themed stuff all week as well. No one got the hints..

Back out on the roads again yesterday. After our recent jaunts to Selma (westward) and Clanton (northward), we pedaled eastward to Tuskegee. None of our foursome had biked there before, but we left east Montgomery at 6:00 am to a lovely, if drenchingly humid sunrise. Here's Frank pulling us out. Imagine scrambling along behind a FedEx truck and you get the idea.



He's on a Surly LHT today. He decided on that bike, when I asked in my ride announcement email, "Does anyone know if all of these roads are PAVED?"  They weren't btw. Here's a view of his cockpit. Bonus points if you can ID the handlebars he's rocking.



Here are Mike (Cervelo) and Roxy (Trek)




We rode out on some back roads leading to US 80, which was a smooth ride with gentle grades, opening up to 4 lanes in the approach to Tuskegee. We arrived in time to grab breakfast, but our dining venue selection was limited. We went with reliable, and indulged Roxy's addiction to Frappes as well.




After our meal stop at mile 26, we headed north to Notasulga. Not a single place to eat there (other than a C-store) but a cute little downtown with a crazy junk shop. Some of the stuff looks pretty interesting in fact. Like the Beater Bike in this pic.

 
We re-filled water bottles and emptied bladders at the C-Store, and while there, a detachment of Auburn Flyers rode up. I'd seen a couple of them on charity rides over the years, and we exchanged greetings. Generally, a stylish group with club or manufacturer kits on and high end carbon rides. They were out of Auburn for a high speed morning 50 mi. Several admired the Rivendell which was kind of cool. One guy shouted out, "Richard Sachs had NOTHING to do with Rivendell!" when I mentioned that he had designed the lugs on my Waterford built 1st year bike. It seems this guy once raced on a Sachs and couldn't stand the thought of a "real" bike like Sachs being tied to the clunker I was on. I've seen this guy ride before. He's fast on the flats, but I can take him uphill. In my un-clipped sandals, on a 21 lb steel Rivendell. Like I told him, it's in the legs dude, not the bike.

Leaving Notasulga, we had to check the turn directions frequently. The way back as plotted went over a number of county roads I had never been on before. It was hillier as well, and after the first big climb (the one leading up to sign below), Mike started to have cramp problems in his legs. We adjusted the route to swing back south where it was flatter, but had to get through some miserable sections of road first. CR 56 coming into Franklin was atrocious. It may not have been re-paved since WW II. Parts were covered in rain washed-on clay and sand, parts looked like runway buster bombs had been accidentally dropped on it from the nearby old USAF training field (The famous "Tuskegee Airmen.") It was also, as this picture shows, in the middle of no where. Yes, this is the road, visible in the picture.



38 mm Pari-Motos handled the surface just fine, but Mike lost a bounced out water bottle, then lost control of the thin tire Cervelo and pitched into the dirt along the side of the road. My body was jarred some too, via the handlebars, although the hammock-y Selle Anatomica saddle, steel frame, and fat tires all helped absorb a lot of it elsewhere.

One feature of taking back roads is that you come across all kinds of attractions you might other wise miss. Like this one, advertised with a sign lettered by the Chik-Fil-A cows:





By mile 50, Mike was walking his bike up highway over passes. He was cooked for the day. Frank consulted his Garmin and we decided to go off route, mostly downhill to a gas station along I-85. We made it, and spent time there making sure that Mike was in the shade, getting refreshed, and calling the Mrs. for a lift back to his vehicle. The Sun was broilng by then, and he was looking pretty red, and not entirely making sense when he answered our questions. When he said he felt better and wanted to continue to ride, we talked him out of it. I've been there, and I know that you only feel better because you are OFF the bike. I assured Mike that he'd feel much better after a good night's rest. Roxy was especially sensitive to making sure that he was squared away before we went off. Mike is a pretty fast rider (we've been on many club rides together), but the humidity then heat and intense sun today caught him by surprise.

Since we were already back on the south side of the interstate, we chose to plot a course back to US 80 and retrace our morning steps. Clouds were forming and the wind picked up, a sure sign of T-Storms on the way. A little sprinkle to cool us off would be great, but lightning was not desired.  We did get a little bit of rain, a few drops only, and we rolled over some still wet pavement, but we stayed in the clear all the way back. On the way out, we had passed a farm that I only noticed once we were by it. Realizing we would see it again, I asked to stop and take a few pictures. I figured that we qualified.


We ended up with a little over 80 miles, including the gas station detour, although I turned my Garmin off when we went to assist Mike a time or two. Officially, 79.01 miles at 15 avg and 2,664/ of climb. My HR was only 132 avg, so I was pleased with how I felt fitness wise. The saddle and tires were really comfortable. The Selle is stretched all the way, and is like sitting on a comfy hammock. No bottom pains at all. I am very happy with the Pascenti tires which now have several hundred miles of use. I wore all wool today and it was basically okay. The Duo shorts are very good and I shrank the Ibex jersey in the laundry, as it is a size L and I am now a size S. Getting all sweaty stretched it back out however. If it won't stay small, it will go on ebay. It hangs down way too low in back, with anything in the pockets. I carry as little as possible, but you need somethings to be close at hand. A Nike Hydro sports towel in a baggie works well to handle sweat in my eyes and wipe off at rest stops. You just squeeze the fluid out of it and it cools you.
A new-to-me Rapha cap saw its first duty today. This is a tightly woven fine weave cotton fabric and it is hands down the best thing I've had under a helmet in the summer. Comfortable, handles my huge volume of perspiration and keeps its shape. It was in near new shape on Ebay. For about 1/2 of new $.

I am watching a few more auctions for them now.

I'll still wear wool caps often, but these are really well made.

 No rides today: Session meeting this afternoon at church, and then back to the laundry room cabinets from Ikea which are now partially in progress, as Sharon has painted the room in advance of their installation. Here's my Assistant inside one. 

2 week Recap

Sharon came back Saturday from her work assignment in FL. While she was away, I spent plenty of time aboard the steel stable in the garage. We had a good series of after-work Prattville rides, getting in some hill work. Last Saturday, I went out with a long time friend who hadn't been on his bike in a while. It was a new route I mapped out and although he gave it a good effort, after 28 miles, he was ready to head home. I went on and enjoyed the solo excursion. 64.5 mi and 3,248' of climb at 13.9 avg.
  This Saturday, we did a "tune up" ride of 43 mi, and ended up at 16.3 avg. Had I known we were going quickly, I would have ridden a quicker bike. As it was, I think the effort impacted how perky I was (or was not) today. Well, that and we had a church related pre-communion fast from Saturday afternoon to Sunday (yesterday) afternoon. It focused our prayers, but may also have lessened glycogen reserves avail to me today. Today, Joe, Frank and I ambled on up the road to Clanton (34 mi up on US 31) and enjoyed Deli-Delite there. The plan was to go to Dairy Queen. The Yellow pages gave me 510 S 7th st as the address.

Dairy Queen

510 7th St S, Clanton, AL 35045 » Map (205) 755-9933

 When we got there, the store was Dari-Delite, not Dairy Queen. No matter, it was there, it was open, we were hungry. I ate stuff I wouldn't normally, but it was very tasty, and I am pretty sure that the carbs/cals were incinerated on the ride back home. I fought hydration the whole day. Anything I drank gushed right out through my pores, especially those on my head. The day totaled 74 mi (the route home was longer and hillier) and I drank 154 oz of fluid, not including the vanilla malted at Dari-Delite. And I was till thirsty. Very scenic roads today and no real issues with cars or dogs. Frank and Joe were very considerate and made sure I was alive. We planned to avg 15, but I was running 13.8, especially due to the brisk headwinds coming back. They served to keep us cooler though. We ended up the day with 3,797' of climb, most at the beginning and end of the ride, with longer gradual slopes in the middle. On the way home, we met 3 Clanton riders coming from the Slapout store. Jim and Paul are long time riding pals, and they had a new face with them, Webb was his name, I think. They are strong riders and fast. It was very nice to pause long enough to catch up on things with them, and introduce them to Frank and Joe. Once we took leave of them, I zeroed in on making it down to Posey's, a stop on our normal weeknight loops. If I could get there, get cooled and re hydrated, I would make it home in good order. That's exactly how it went. We took a long enough break there for me to get my act together, and then getting home the last 15 miles was a piece of cake.  Some pictures below:

Ron and the "Black Hawk Bike" prepped for the Prattville July 4th Parade. We saw Ron at the start today, at Dari-Delite, and lost track of him leaving Clanton. He wanted to explore a railroad exhibit somewhere.



Eric realizing that he has not practiced changing a tire on his new bike, on our Father's Day ride. His SO Erin offers advice, and Curtis waits to the right while Max demonstrates that his MTB is good on grass. I ended up doing a little refresher course on roadside tire changing.



The "Hound Dog" (Rivendell Saluki) is ready for the ride today. This is where we met to set off from.



In front of our destination. Frank gave it an "A" for atmosphere and a "B-" for food and bathrooms. I rated the food higher. I really liked how the cheese and eggs were mixed up and the crumbly biscuit. It's a DIVE with pleasant country folks working there and stick to your ribs (or other parts) food.



Now Frank and Joe, and the sign:



This picture is for Sharon, who doubts that I would violate Atkins by eating ice cream. 710 cals and 97 carbs of it, Baby! (just for the malted)



A little fuzzy, taken on the roll, but the flag indicates the wind that we hauled into for 40 miles coming home. That's FORTY, with a FOUR.

Happy Father's Day

With Sharon off to Clearwater for a 2 week work stint, it was just Alex and me this weekend. The two of them collaborated however on a Father's Day gift for me. My back is often very stiff after standing for a while on a hard floor, such as when I teach each Sunday morning at church. They gave me a cushioned kitchen mat to stand on! How thoughtful :) We're doing a combined summer class in the sanctuary, which is carpeted and therefore better for standing on, but in the Fall when we move back to our regular class room, I'll be happy to have it.

Our Thursday hill route saw one new rider, Max. He's on a mountain bike and keeps up just fine. Which tells me he'll be screaming fast on a road bike, should he ever get one. I've suggested he at least put some slicker rubber on that Gary Fisher for now. Yesterday, he showed up for the Father's Day "relaxer" ride and said "I've got one of those cycling shirts now. I really like the pockets in the back." And he's ALREADY a strong rider. Wait till he gets to know more about how to ride!

Saturday, I thought about showing up at the regular bike club ride, and emailed Dan & Vanessa to ask about water stops on the way. At their avg pace (17 - 19) I'd need lots of water. Dan mentioned there would be a couple of stops for fluid replenishment, and I could check with someone else who knew the route for turn instructions, should I get dropped. He was suggesting ever so delicately that I might be too slow for this gang. Now that hills and wind trouble me less, I have been working on pace. I can hold 22 - 24 mph, but only for a few miles. 18 is really my upper comfortable limit, to avg that, the club riders often are well above that point. I took Dan's subtle hint and decided to ride myself up north of town. I did post it to the club and heard from a couple of interested parties. 68 miles, 3,300' of climb and rest stops every 15 miles. Pretty country too. Riding to the start from our house would add 12 miles, to make a nice 80.

As it turned out, only Roxy was able to join me. I pedaled away from our garage at 6:15 AM and headed over to Millbrook, one town east of Prattville. The new paving on our main drag was like butter to ride on. It didn't last long though, as I turned onto regular old stuff at the traffic light. Roxy came up and got ready and we headed off at 7:00. Mindful of the forecast for very warm temps in the afternoon, I suggested we do the route clockwise, and get most of the hills done early. The route roughly is alternating 1/4s of hilly and flattish terrain. By the time it got hot, we'd have only the last flattish section to do. Roxy didn't really care, hadn't looked at the route and said he was going to tag along wherever the Rivendell was pointed.

I don't like to climb on cold legs, but the easy cruise from home had warmed them sufficiently that I did not mind the immediate 10% grade up CR 009 across from Wal-Mart. We wound our way up to Old Kingston, stopping at a store on US 31 but not needing to rest at either Posey Crossroads or Old Kingston. That made for a long haul when we finally pulled into "Bubba's" Pit Stop Gas just outside of Marbury. Roxy had a couple of bike issues going on. His front shifter was able to shift into his small ring but not out of it. A new cable was recently installed, and it may need some further tweaking. He threw his chain off once if I recall as well. Nothing major at any rate. With the 13% grades we climbed, that granny gear was an item he wanted at the ready. My bike worked really well. This was the 3rd outing on the new 38 mm Pascenti Pari-Moto tires. They have swelled some in girth due to the very supple walls, and the outer diameter has therefore dropped so that they are almost the same OD as 32 mm Grand Bois Cypres (on the Nashbar). While the tires are now just BARELY fitting inside the chain stays, they do not rub at all and they are easily the most comfortable while still fast tires that I have ridden to date. (The Rivendell was built for 700mm tires. Using 650B tires allows fatter models to be used, with a bit less outside diameter. They also lower the top tube of the frame and let me straddle a larger size frame. I prefer to ride the largest frames I can fit on, as they are more comfortable to me and handle better. Where my normal size frame for 700 size wheels is 50 cm, the Rivendell, or "Elrond" as I sometimes refer to him, is 54.5 cm in size.)

When we reached Deatsville Hwy at mile 45 of the route, Roxy & I did a quick weather consult. Our consensus was it was HOT! and we opted to take the right hand fork rather than the left. We sliced about 10 miles off the course that way. So Roxy made it back to the car with a metric in hand and since I still had to ride back home, I tallied 73+ for the day. Our change in plan turned out to be Providential as not 15 minutes after I put the bike in the garage, a lightning bolt cracked nearby, the heavens opened up and we had high winds and driving rain. It didn't last too long (long enough to green up all the grass though) but I would NOT want to be riding in it at any time, much less when I was already tired from pushing against the headwinds which it turned out were generated by this frontal system. I was losing gas in my legs on that last section coming home anyway, and realized from the goosebumps on my arms (in 97F blazing Sun) that I had core temperature issues. I pulled into a shopping center parking lot and went into a restaurant to have a LARGE ICE COLD Diet Coke. Talk about the pause that refreshes! The left over ice went into my water bottles. Something about 100F+ propel just isn't very thirst quenching, you know? Being inside for a few minutes let me get cooled down as well. Feeling ready to go again, I pulled out and finished the ride normally.

There's a definite difference in my riding from last year to now. If nutrition and hydration/electrolytes are managed properly, I can pedal a longer way without problems. I like that. I was also not tired when I got home, or the next day for the relaxer ride. When work pays off, it is very satisfying, and encouraging to reach for more.

For Father's Day, I intended a casual mostly flat ride of 32 miles. I was surprised that 7 other riders came out, and we hadn't gone far before one of them had a flat. He had only changed a tire once before, and did not know how to use tire bars. We had a quick review on the road for general benefit and then we were back on our way. A little while later, I was told we had lost a rider. It was T2. I went back a mile+ to check on her but she was no where to be seen. I knew she had gone out the day prior and suspected when she got to the first hill, her legs were rubbery. That turned out to be the case, and she left a Vmail on my machine. So, a couple of extra miles and lots of sweat as I raced to catch back up with the main group, except for Ray who came along with me to see about Terry.

I held a steady 13 mph pace into a brisk wind, which the new riders behind me said was okay for them. One, on her 2d ride ever, struggled with hills, until she finally got the hang of the front derailleur and found her granny ring. Coming back with a tailwind and mostly downhill was more fun of course. The new folks got all happy footed and cranked. I was not into a race so I did not try to catch them. I'm glad they had fun. Curtis and I brought up the rear at a respectable rate. I ended with a 14 avg, and my heart rate average was HIGHER than on the long hilly ride the day before. NOT relaxing, but it was good fun regardless.

Tailwinds!

"We Shall Overcome"

The song, "We Shall Overcome," has become synonymous with the annual festivities at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL. These mark the civil rights era events which occurred there. Selma is close enough to ride to, and it seemed like a nice idea instead of another Saturday club ride from one of the two venues used. I floated the idea on our Thursday hill drill and both Joe and Frank seemed interested. Did some homework, located a potential eating establishment for a mid ride meal, and posted the ride to the club. Surprisingly, I got a fair number of responses. Ray emailed me to say that he would come. Mike, Michael, and Robert were strong maybes. Ron wrote that his free time precluded going all teh way, but he would join us until our 1st rest stop in Autaugaville. As it turned out, it was Ray, Frank, Joe and I with Ron for the 1st 1/4 of the way.

I set up Louise, the Rambouillet for the trip, by swapping the skimpy tool roll for a large Acorn saddle bag. Hot and sunny was the forecast so a number of items were packed, that don't usually come along. Sunscreen, a sports towel, enough cereal grain bars and propel powder for the whole trip, in case none was found at store stops. Also packed a bike lock, clickstand, tools, and a camera. The 37 mm Paselas came off and the original issue 32s went back on. I was unsure about the bike, as it now has a regular road double, instead of the original compact triple. I decided to have faith that I could climb all the hills without a little chain ring. After all, why are we doing hill drills twice a week, if not to get better at, anyone, anyone? HILLS!! The bike worked great. It was as comfortable at the end as at the first. WHile my legs were tired when we were done, my butt was NOT sore and my body was not beaten up. It's a great frame design and really perfect dimensions for me. I only had a 6 speed freewheel today and I don't think I ever used the biggest cog. Any trouble I had was staying up with the speedwagons who interpreted my post about "touring pace" to mean 18 - 20 mph. In the end, I hung on until I got tired, then dropped off the back until I felt recovered. I often closed some of the gaps on hills, but not always. A couple of times, they took a shady break along he way and let me rejoin the group. I think what was most tiring for me was not the pace they pushed, but the way they pedaled. Frank is fairly consistent although he gets sudden burst of energy and surges ahead, but Joe and Ray are interval cyclists. They pedal hard, speed up, then rest and slow down. That wears on me, since I get in a groove and need to stay at about the same speed all the time. I don't race downhills, and I try not to slow much going up them. It's not a bad thing, it's just our styles are different. It certainly didn't stop me from enjoying this ride immensely. Being alone in the back let me ride as I would without company and that worked fine too. No assist with wind that way, but it's a trade off I could handle.

Frank had "Colonel Mustard," his custom Bilenky, Joe was on his custom Seven. Ray rode a Trek I didn't catch the model # of, and Ron was on his SUV. (a MTB converted to touring duty. He can carry EIGHT water bottles on that thing in mounts placed everywhere they'll fit. I still haven't divined how he has an under/over handlebars set up of two totally distinct handlebars. Very interesting!) Here are Frank and Joe getting ready and my bike is leaning against the car.



I was excited about the trip all week. This morning though, as the "weather alert" icons popped up to tell about near 100F temps expected, and Frank wondered how "flat" this ride really was, I had a few second thoughts. You might see that in my expression here. Or maybe  I'm feeling the jokes coming my way about doing this ride in this heat in WOOL.



We headed off on time anyway at 7:00, and made it to our rest stops in good order. The roads were in good condition for the most part and we arrived in Selma at about 9:30. We went up on the bridge and heard a few horn honks (surely they were just saying hello to out of towners?) and here is the obligatory Bridge shot.



A second mission was to eat a meal here, and my original recon selection of The Downtowner was closed for the day. A quick pedal around brought us wafting aromas of BBQ, so we pulled in at the "Rib Master" on Alabama Ave. Owned and operated by Rena (pronounced Re-Nay), she tells you to be patient and get really good home cooking. All from scratch. We had breakfasts and they were indeed as she said. A small place, we had to shoehorn ourselves in there.







Rena says modestly that she has the best ribs in Selma. "I season 'em real good before cooking and start with good meat. It falls off the bone when I cook it." Her kids help in the store and none of the locals we saw in there were in a rush either. They all were patient, as were we. She got nice tips from us, and she deserved them. Here's momma Rena at work on the grill:



Brunch took about an hour and then we headed back. It was hotter than on the way out, with a quartering headwind that was more a cooling help than a pedaling hindrance. It was drier as well, so perspiration was more efficient. Hot though.  We expected to be back around 2, and we were pretty close to that. I showed almost 75 miles total and a 15 mph moving average, which was "in the advertised range." the others will have slightly higher avg speeds. We climbed over 2,000' but not the 3,000' Frank saw on MapMyRide (web glitch, it later showed 1,500')

 The Swobo jersey was especially good in the afternoon, when it was almost dry any time we were riding. In the morning the wet air prevented any drying out to occur. ZOIC shorts with the padded liner were excellent below. No grabbing at the skin when wet.

 There were a couple of funny moments along the way. At rest stop #2, Ray went behind the store to use a tree (no public facilities avail there) and was stung by a wasp. Good thing it got his hand, you know? He cooled it off with ice, and then on a suggestion from Frank, put some down his shorts. Frank meant some small pieces, but Ray shoved a huge block in there. He was very macho for a few minutes until he experienced, in the words of George Castanza, "Shrinkage!!"

The ride on the Mississippi River Trail last Fall whetted my appetite for longer tours, so I am sure this won't be the last meander. Just this afternoon, Sharon mentioned needing to make a trip to IKEA in Atlanta for laundry room cabinets. "Hey, how about if you drop me off in Anniston, and I come up on the Chief Ladiga - Silver Comet Trail and meet you there?" You know, thinking outside the box, right?

Tailwinds.