Hilly birthday ride

On South Danby Rd south of IthacaMy goal for 2009 is 18 century rides. I didn't think I'd make it, since I didn't get in as many as I'd planned over the summer. But then it looked like the weather on Monday would be perfect, and since it was my birthday I thought I'd give myself a present of a century ride -- it would be #17, so with the December century ride I'd make my goal.

I decided to ride a very hilly route I'd gotten from Mark Frank of the Rochester Bike Club, called the Honeypot Hilly Hundred, with about 8,000 ft of climbing (I'm a bit behind on my climbing goals too...) So on that bright and sunny November morning, with the temps in the 50s already by 8am, I took off. It was nice wearing only bike shorts, a shirt and light biking jacket.

The first climb was up Coddington and then onto Troy, onto Nelson and then down Steamhill to 96b. Then along 96b a bit until South Danby Road, another climb taking me down to Rt 96. A flat ride along 96 to Candor, then up Honeypot Rd, which I've done a number of times. At the end, turning right onto Old 76 into Speedville.

At this point I missed a turn, continuing along Old 76, but realized the mistake and turned back and headed up West Creek Rd. I was supposed to turn onto Glen, but turned instead on a road with no road sign, which turned out to be Rejmer, which eventually rejoined W Creek Rd, at which point I realized I'd made a mistake, so I asked someone how to get to Berkshire. She directed me onto Howard Hill Rd, which was a very nice climb, and brought me to Rt 38 at Newark Valley, so I followed 38 up to Berkshire. Fortunately the wind was from the south so this was the longest flat part of the route.

At Berkshire I turned right onto E. Berkshire road for another climb, then up Hartwell Rd, Caldwell Hill Rd, crossing Rt 79 at Center Lisle, then up Hunts Corners Rd down to Rt221.

At this point I realized that to make it home by sunset, about 4:40, I'd have to change the planned route to keep my total at about 100 miles. By missing Glen Rd and ending up in Newark Valley, I'd added about 15 miles to the route, so I decided to cut off the part of the route that continued on to Marathon, and just turn on Rt 221 and then pick up the route again at Babcock Hollow Rd in Harford. Unfortunately this also cut out about 1000 feet of climbing.

Another problem was that Marathon is where the food was. I hadn't passed a single place to get water or food since I'd left Candor. Fortunately I'd brought 4 chewy granola bars and two water bottles, but I was getting hungry and by the time I hit Babcock Hollow Rd I was out of water. I hoped I'd make it to Dryden okay.

Babcock Hollow Rd starts out flat, following a creek, but then goes up in a nice big climb. The road is newly graded and paved, which is nice. It then hooks up to Daisy Hollow Rd, which is another big climb, then down again, where I picked up Lake Rd, into Dryden. At Dryden, about mile 85, I stopped for food - peanuts and poptarts - gatoraid (my face was encrusted with salt so I thought I should definitely top up my electrolytes) and water. After about 10 minutes I felt much better, and I took off for the last bit, up onto Ferguson, down Yellow Barn, to Johnson, into Freeville, and the very familiar return into Ithaca along Upper and Lower Creek and Hanshaw Rds.

I got home a bit after 4, well before sunset. I felt good, and given the climbing -- 7100 feet -- I was happy with my time, 13.62mph, and climbing average of 70.35 feet/mile.

What a great day for a bike ride, and the route was excellent. I'll have to do the correct version of the route some other day. But this century ride was a great birthday gift to myself. It's nice riding in this late fall landscape, many shades of browns and grays, a few straggling leafs still in place, but having it be warm enough to be really enjoyable.

I'm also glad that I had enough left-over energy to go out for dinner with Lisa and Lucas that night, and to blow out the candles and open gifts later.

Route: Ithaca - Candor - Speedville - Berkshire - Harford - Dryden - Ithaca
Total distance: 101.21 miles
Ride time: 07:25:56
Avg speed: 13.62 mph
Total climb: 7,120 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1761 ft, on South Road, south of Caroline Center
Avg climb: 70.35 ft/mile

Wind and hills

Great ride today, beautiful gusty fall day, decided to do a climbing ride, the 65 mile version the Rochester Bike Club's century ride from Ithaca to Elmira and back. The short version of the ride that I did today has about 5000 ft of climbing (avg climb 75 ft/mile). Temp was in the lower 50s the whole day, winds were pretty consistently from south, 10-20 gusting up to 30 near the end of the ride.

The route is great, beautiful, low traffic, and really nice climbs. The first climb is Rt 327 by Robert Treman State Park out of Ithaca (first picture on left), then onto Trumbulls Corners Rd. and Sebring: the first 15 miles averaged a climb of 100 ft/mile. Then down onto 13 for a flat bit until another big climb, Varney Hill Rd off of 224, then Jackson Creek Rd. Into Breesport, where I stopped for lunch and cut off from the century route, taking 223, another flat bit, into Erin, then rejoined the end of the century route. From Erin another climb on Laurel Hill Rd, Park Station Rd, Austin Hill Rd then a huge downhill on Austin Hill Rd to 223, and a really long nice downhill on 223 to 224. The last big climb, Jackson Hollow Rd to Van Kirk, then down into Newfield, then that nice long downhill into Ithaca.

The wind was strong but not bad, didn't slow me down since I was mostly climbing anyway, though near the end I got some crossbreeze gusts that almost knocked me off my bike. The scenery was great, most leaves down but still some up, a blend of orange and bright yellow. I was warm enough the whole way, it was a great ride.

This is a route I'll definitely do again, and when the weather's nicer I'll do the entire century, which continues from Breesport to Soaring Hill west of Elmira and then back to Erin where it picks up the route I took back to Ithaca, total climbing somewhere around 8000 feet.

Route: Ithaca - Trumbulls Corners - Breesport- Erin - Newfield - Ithaca
Total distance: 67.16 miles
Ride time: 04:57:15
Avg speed: 13.56 mph
Total climb: 5,034 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1965 ft, on Van Kirk Rd south of Newfield
Avg climb: 74.96 ft/mile

July century #3: Around three lakes

Taughannock Creek, looking towards the lake For my third July century I chose a route that was a big loop around Cayuga, Owasco and Skaneateles Lakes, and included a lot of roads I hadn't ridden before. The morning was beautiful, sunny, no rain predicted all day, a bit of a breeze.

The first stretch, up Rt 89 to Cayuga Lake Creamery at Interlaken, is one I've ridden a lot, of course. I got to the Creamery at about 10am, and even though they "officially" don't open until 11, as long as someone is there they will serve you. So I got a nice big coffee milk shake.


Coffee milkshake at Cayuga Lake
CreameryI continued up Rt 89. Now, I've ridden 89 from north to south a number of times, but as I rode this stretch, I realized I hadn't ridden south to north past Sheldrake. So this was a new experience. And I have to say, Rt 89 going north is a delightful ride. 

There are some hills, but the balance going in that direction is downhill, until the flats at the northern part of the lake, where it's flat! Then onto River Rd, right along the lake, past lake cottages, and finally that last climb up to Rt 20. I loved that ride and will definitely do it that way again!

From Rt 20 I crossed over the Cayuga Inlet and turned right onto River Rd, passing along this small road that goes by the locks between the lake and the inlet, and the small cottages that line it. Then onto Rt 90, into the little village of Cayuga. By this time it was very hot!

I turned left onto Genesee St, which takes you right into Auburn. I decided to try this road, which I've never ridden or driven before, instead of riding the busy Rt 20. And it's a nice alternative. It's not as flat as 20, but the hills aren't big ones and there's not much traffic. It brings you right into downtown Auburn, and then as you follow it Genesee St eventually rejoins 20.


Downtown Skaneateles, at the north end of the lake The stretch of 20 from Auburn to Skaneateles is hilly, with some big rollers. The shoulder is nice, and traffic wasn't too bad, but it involved not just rollers but an overall climb. 

At Skaneateles I stopped for lunch at a deli downtown, right across from the lake: a ham and cheese sub, chips and lots of liquid. I took it outside and sat in the shade of a tree in the park at the top of the lake, enjoying the breeze. Skaneateles is a busy place in the summer, there were lots of tourists wandering the streets, going out in boats, and the restaurants were all pretty full.

After a bit of a rest I got back in the saddle and headed out of town, turning onto Rt 41, which goes along the eastern shore of the lake. I had ridden part of 41 before, and knew it involved climbing. Overall the climb is from about 870 feet in Skaneateles to the high point of 1750 in Spafford, about 11 miles south of the village, with lots of rollers in between. It was a beautiful ride though. What's striking is how high and steep the hills are on the west side of the lake. As you head south they get bigger and steeper.


Skaneateles Lake, from Rt 41 at ScottEventually Rt 41 starts to head downhill. By Scott it's down to 1400 feet, and then by the time it hits Rt 281 in Homer you're at 1130 feet. I stopped at the convenience store/ gas station at the corner of Rt 90 and 281 and loaded up on liquid. It was a very hot day: my shirt, shorts and gloves were decorated with white patterns from the salt, and I was sweating a lot.

Then the final stretch. Rt 281 through Cortlandville is flat, okay shoulder even though there's traffic. Then the turn onto Luker Rd -- which also avoids all the construction on 281 -- and then onto McLean Rd, which turns into Fall Creek Rd and Rt 361. This stretch has some hills, though compared to other options of getting back to Ithaca is relatively flat. The shoulder is okay, except for a mile or two before Freeville, where there's no shoulder.


Wildflowers along Rt 41As I was riding along, a car pulled over ahead of me, as I got closer, I saw it was my friend and neighbor Michael, driving back from Syracuse, who was surprised to see me. A bit further along, all traffic was stopped for one of those huge houses on a truck, they were trying to back the house into a lot near a lake, and at least finally got the house off of the road.

The ride back into Ithaca was fine, Upper Creek and Lower Creek roads, meandering and dipping a bit up and down along Fall Creek, then across Rt 13, onto Hanshaw Road - which really needs a serious repaving - and down Devon Rd to Lake St and back into Fall Creek.

My legs were feeling tired on the stretch after Skaneateles, I think the heat was getting to me. But from Homer onwards I felt really pretty good, and when I got home I felt fine.

This is century number 3 for July, number 9 for the year: halfway to my goal of 18 centuries this year...

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Route: Ithaca - Auburn - Skaneateles - Homer - Ithaca
Total distance: 114.90 miles
Ride time: 07:26:59
Avg speed: 15.42 mph
Total climb: 4,332 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1752 ft, on Rt 41 south of Skaneateles
Avg climb: 37.70 ft/mile

Ride to Lucas's birthplace

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Ithaca to Montour FallsLucas hadn't done a long ride since returning from Virginia, so he said he'd be up for something 50-60 miles. I plotted a course to bring us to Montour Falls, up to September Hill. This is where Lucas was born 15-1/3 years ago, at the birthing center next to the hospital. Then we'd come back to Ithaca via Odessa and Newfield, for a total ride of about 58 miles.

We headed out about 9:30. We rode up Rt 89, and we saw some of the Bon Ton Roulet riders headed north out of Ithaca. We turned off onto Perry City Rd towards Burdett. The first bit off of 89 is quite steep, a good climb, and it continues to climb at 2-3 percent until it hits Rt 96. Lucas was not overly happy about the climb. But then we did get some downhills too. The clouds looked somewhat ominous, but we didn't hit any rain the entire day.


The view from September HillWe went by a place with you-pick raspberries but the farm was 1/2 mile off the road so we passed it and continued to Burdett. We'd planned to stop at the Grist Mill Cafe in Burdett for breakfast. But Grist Mill is closed on Mondays!

We cut up Rt 9 over to Skyline Drive, passing corn fields and grape vines that were getting pretty big. Skyline is a great ride, very scenic views of Seneca Lake and then that huge downhill into Montour Falls. We pedalled over to Main St, where we stopped for pizza.


Lucas in front of the old birthing centerAt this point Lucas decided he didn't really want to bike back, especially since there were a few big climbs. He was feeling tired. I said, hey but you did 60-70 miles a day for 8 days in a row a few weeks ago! He said that was different, somehow you feel different when you are on tour, which is very true!

He did say he was okay continuing on to the birthing center though, even though it was up a hill. So we called Lisa to come and pick us up, and then we headed out.


Chip holding Lucas at the
birthing center, March 19, 1994I'd forgotten how big September Hill is, about 500 feet of climbing over a little more than a mile. We went past the hospital, and there was the house that Lucas was born in. It isn't a birthing center anymore, but a women's center. We kept cycling past it to the crest of the hill then came back down.

We sat in the shade in front of the house waiting for Lisa. When she came, I took a few pictures of her and Lucas. Hard to believe it's been over 15 years.

On the drive back we stopped at the Silver Queen Farm on Stillwell Rd, the place we'd seen before, where we picked a bunch of raspberries that we had for dessert tonight.

Lucas and Lisa in front of the old birthing center:

Route: Ithaca - Burdett - Montour Falls
Total distance: 31.64 miles
Ride time: 02:39:07
Avg speed: 11.9 mph
Total climb: 1,839 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1257 ft, on Rt 227 west of Reynoldsville
Avg climb: 58.1 ft/mile

July 2009 century #2: Lunch in Towanda, PA

Wildflowers along Rt 34
I'd done a century in the first week of July, but I was hoping to get in 18 centuries this year, so knew I had to do at least a couple more this month. I decided to do one on Wednesday July 22. The weather looked good, and I thought I'd be ready.

For the route, I decided to retrace part of the route that Lucas and I took to Virginia. The first part of Pennsylvania's Bike Route J was really nice, so I traced a route following J down to Towanda, then coming back on a road I knew nothing about but that looked bikeable from the maps, PA Rt 187 through Rome up to Nichols, then Halsey Valley Rd to Spencer and back into Ithaca on 34. It was about 119 miles, longer than a century, but what the heck, the more miles the better! And it doesn't look like I'll get to do a century and a half this month like I did last July.

Map of the Towanda century route:

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I took off on Wednesday morning at about 8am. The winds were pretty mild that early, it was sunny, but not hot. I rode along Rt 34 out to Spencer where I stopped. My time to Spencer was pretty slow, on previous centuries I'd managed averages above 15mph, this time I only made a bit more than 13mph.

Then I saw that the pizza place I usually stop at was closed! Man did they have a good breakfast pizza... I got some chewy granola bars and gatoraid at the gas station, and continued to Van Etten, then down to Waverly along the very flat section of 34 that goes along Carpenter/Cayuta Creek. And as I rode along here, I saw the that Dandy Mart south of Lockwood was closed -- that was the site of my broken seat post on the October STBC century ride last year.


Susquehanna from the Athens bridgeThen it was on through Waverly, past the Sopranos Bakery, across the state line into Sayre, where Bike Route J starts. I followed it through Athens, turning onto the bridge across the Susquehanna. I would cross that river four times during this century ride.

The next section of the route, Sheshequin Rd, goes from Athens all the way to the bridge at Towanda. It's a very pleasant ride, much of it along the Susquehanna. The road has no shoulders, but very little traffic. The terrain is rolling, with one significant climb, maybe 12 percent, followed by a very nice downhill. The first part of Sheshequin is through forests, then it comes out into farmland.

The bridge into Towanda was still under construction, so I had to ride in the lane -- no shoulder -- but again, not a lot of traffic at all. Once in Towanda I looked for a place to have lunch. Lucas and I had stopped at the first pizza place we'd seen, and while the waitress was very nice, the pizza wasn't great. Then I remembered that as we were driving home from Norfolk, through Towanda, I'd seen another pizza place closer to downtown. And there it was, Papa V's. I got a couple of slices and sat outside at a picnic table, they were very good.

I continued on through Towanda, turning left onto Rt 6, where I left Bike Route J, but joined Bike Route Y, which follows 6 on and east-west route across the state. After a few miles on 6 -- not very pleasant, heavy traffic, not much of a shoulder, through a strip area with hotels, shopping plazas, fast food joints -- I turned onto Rt 187 at Wysox.

I'd never ridden or even driven this road, so it was a bit of a gamble, but it went from outside of Towanda 20 miles or so up to Nichols. The terrain view of 187 on Google maps looked good, it followed a river valley. And the road it self turned out to be great. Nice shoulders, not much traffic, very flat the first half of the ride. After Rome it got a bit hillier, and there was one climb, but nothing major. Then there was a big long downhill to just before Nichols (PA 187 turns into NY Rt 282 at the state line)

At Nichols I was ready for a break, I was at the 80 mile mark -- the entire ride was about 119 miles -- and it was in the 80s. So when I saw "Dad's Ice Cream" I pulled over, got a strawberry milkshake and a Pepsi, and sat in the shade while I finished them off. Then it was back onto 282, across the Susquehanna for the last time, and onto Rt 17C. I was back on roads I'd ridden many times before.


Susquehanna RiverAt Tioga Center I turned onto Halsey Valley Rd, which I really love, winding, a bit hilly, through forests mostly, it's a very pleasant, low traffic ride. I did get hit with a bit of rain, but nothing serious. Then back to Spencer where I stopped at the grocery store for water and gatoraid. And I was at mile 100 right in Spencer.

The last 19 miles back home were great. Rt 34 back into Ithaca is overall pretty much downhill, with a few uphill sections, but it was a fast ride, very pleasant, and I got home at about 4:40 or so. Not bad. But my average, 15.48mph, was down from previous centuries with similar amounts of climbing. I think the touring I've done this summer has been a different kind of riding than what I do on my road bike, and my muscles have trained in a different way. Well, I have a month to whip them back into shape before Bike Tioga!

I think this is a route I'll probably do again, maybe riding 187 from north to south to see how big of a climb it is going southward. I'm thinking it might be a good alternative touring route to Sheshequin Rd, which, while beautiful, is a bit more rolling than I'd like on a fully loaded touring bike.

One more century this month, sometime next week. Not yet sure of the route.

Route: Ithaca - Waverly - Towanda - Nichols - Ithaca
Total distance: 119.53 miles
Ride time: 07:43:18
Avg speed: 15.48 mph
Total climb: 4,131 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1258 ft, on Rt 187 north of Rome
Avg climb: 36.56 ft/mile

Ithaca to Virginia tour

Lucas and me on the Rt 50 bridge at Ocean City,
MarylandFrom Monday July 6 to Monday July 13, my 15-year old son Lucas and I rode our bikes from Spencer, NY (18 miles south of Ithaca) to the tip of the Virginia Eastern Shore, at Kiptopeke, the toll booths for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

I blogged the entire ride over at my touring blog, chipbiking.wordpress.com. All of the posts can be accessed from this page: Ithaca-Virginia 2009.

All of the photos from that ride are here: Virginia Trip.

Totals: I rode my Jamis Aurora touring bike, with about 45 pounds of gear, Lucas rode his Jamis Satellite road bike, with about 15 pounds of gear. We rode for 8 days, covering 545 miles in a ride time of 46 hours and 40 minutes, for an average speed 11.68 mph. We climbed 10,834 feet, this route was a lot flatter than the California tour I did last month.

June century: R2K Century, Hamlin Beach - Rochester - Hamlin Beach

My Bacchetta Giro 20I rode a recumbent for the first time about a year ago -- June 30 of last year to be exact. I had borrowed my friend Tommie's Rans Tailwind after attending the 2008 RARE (Rochester Area Recumbents Enthusiasts) R2K ride two days earlier. The ride, which I'd done on my road bike, was a great route, but the two nights camping at Hamlin Beach State Park west of Rochester with other R2K riders was a real blast. And recumbents seemed to be a lot of fun to ride. So I started riding the Tailwind, and did a 4 day tour from Ithaca up to Kingston on it with Tommie and the RARE crew in September.

After the tour I switched to Tommie's extra Bacchetta Giro 20, and I eventually bought it from him in April. I'd done 2 century rides on the Giro, so when I heard there'd be a century option for this year's R2K -- in honor of its 10th anniversary -- I decided to go for it as my June century ride.


At the start of the rideLate Friday afternoon I drove up to Hamlin Beach loaded with pasta salad, sesame noodles, brownies, Ithaca Beer and my Giro. (Tommie was still crewing for Denny Voorhees in the Race Across America, so he missed this year's R2K.) I got there and pitched my tent, said hi to everyone, grabbed some food (I got in a bit late), and hung out, catching up with friends and meeting some new folks.

Bright and early the next morning, we rolled out for a great breakfast cooked up by Michael, Dave and Cliff, the R2K organizers, then out to the main parking lot for the start of the ride. There were about 30 people taking part in this year's ride. The weather was perfect, sunny, temperature in the 70s, a bit of a breeze.


At Lake Ontario Beach Park (I'm wearing a Southern Tier Bike Club shirt)We pedalled eastward over pretty flat terrain, turning north for a detour from the usual route. The detour took us down Edgemere Drive, along the shore of Lake Ontario, with a beautiful view of the lake. We continued along to Lake Ontario Beach Park, where the Genesee River flows into the lake.

At that point, a group of us, including those of us doing the century ride, broke off to do a loop through Irondequoit, crossing over the bridge and riding through a very pleasant little town and neighborhood. Dave Larson led us through this loop, there were a few small rollers but overall this too was pretty flat.

Then it was back across the bridge and along the river, across the beautiful boardwalk, probably about a half mile long, that goes above the water at Turning Point Park, along wetlands, quiet and beautifully green. The route then follows a bike path, mostly through parkland, that eventually got us to downtown Rochester, across the pedestrian/bike bridge that crosses the Genesee River and gives a great view of the big falls.


At the DinosaurLunch at the famous Dinosaur Barbecue! I was definitely ready for some refueling, and got the "big ass" portion of barbecue pork plus cornbread, macaroni salad and cole slaw. After we'd finished, six of us, including Dave, took off to continue the ride, along the river, along the Erie Canal, back up to Edgemere Dr. We eventually caught up to others in the group, and joined them.

At one point I was riding along talking to Michael and suddenly realized I'd just run over a broken beer bottle, and immediately heard that whoosh sound of air rapidly leaving my tire. The glass had slashed the tire, so we stopped and Michael and a couple of other guys helped me change the tube. I used a dollar bill as a boot for the slashed tire, and we were good to go.


Falls in downtown RochesterJust after that we stopped at a convenience store, I went in with Jeff, who was riding a trike and doing his first century. When I got to the cooler I grabbed a pint of strawberry ice cream, Jeff grabbed his own pint, got some spoons, and we joined the other guys outside at the picnic bench in the shade. That ice cream tasted great, and was at just the right time, about mile 75, which is when I usually stop for ice cream on my century rides. We hung out there for about 20-30 minutes.

Five of us who were going to do the century then took off, turning off the regular route onto Church Rd to do the last loop of about 20 miles that would take us up over 100 miles. The roads were pretty flat, very slightly inclined up. We were riding into the sun, which was pretty bright, and into a mild headwind. Pat, Brendan, myself, Jeff (the trike guy) and Jeff's friend on an upright rode westward until Peter Smith Rd where we turned north, then turned east onto Lakeshore which we followed with a few zigs and zags until we got back to the park.


Post-ride dinnerThis ride is perfect for a recumbent - no coincidence there! It's very flat, though my altimeter wasn't working, I'd guess that at most it was about 1500 feet of climbing over a bit more than 100 miles, definitely the flattest century ride I've ever done! The route is also really scenic, along the lake and river and canal, lots of it is along bike paths, really nice!

After a quick shower I joined the others who'd already arrived, including a friend of Cliff's who had brought some home-brewed beer that really hit the spot. We sat around and talked and had some beers, then Michael, Dave and Cliff started up the grills.

We had a great dinner, then sat around a campfire at Cliff's camper for a while, talking, drinking beers and eating brownies. What a perfect day it was, great weather, great riding, great company. I slept really well that night.

The route (in red) relative to Finger Lakes

Route: Hamlin Beach - Rochester - Hamlin Beach
Total distance: 108.38 miles
Ride time: 08:03:53
Avg speed: 13.44 mph
Total climb: 1,300 ft
Low point: 236 ft, along Lake Ontario
High point: 568 ft, downtown Rochester
Avg climb: 11.99 feet/mile (!!)

California tour

In southern CaliforniaI just finished a 10 day tour from San Francisco to San Diego, June 9-18, I blogged about it at a wordpress blog site I set up (much easier to manage from away). You can read about the exploits at http://chipbiking.wordpress.com. Description of ride plus photos.

For all the photos I took (there are over 300), you can go to my Picasa/Google site: California Ride June 2009

Here are the totals: Rode a Jamis Aurora touring bike, loaded with 55 pounds of gear, gear plus bike come to 82 pounds. Rode 10 days, covered 639 miles, ride time 55 hours, 29 minutes, for an average speed of 11.51 mph. Climbed 26,620 feet, steepest was 10%. Most of the big climbs were only 6-7% grade.

Also apologies for neglecting this blog. My March and April century rides were the same route as in February, but much more pleasant. I'll get some posts up here soon I hope.

February 2009 Century Ride: To Auburn and back

The routeFebruary can be a tough month for a century, but I lucked out this year.

Last week I'd picked out Monday as a likely day; it was supposed to be sunny and not too cold. But in picking my route I also wanted to be sure that winds wouldn't be too bad.

At first forecasts said that there'd be minimal wind, so I thought about riding my December century ride route, North up Rt 34 to Fleming, back home, then out down Rt 96b to Candor and back. But then the weather reports changed and said there'd be a north wind. So I plotted another loop course: 60 miles down to Owego and back home, then out to Genoa, over to King Ferry and back.

But when the day came, the winds were calmer in the morning and were supposed to pick up a bit in the afternoon from the north. So at 8:40am I headed north, along Rt 34 towards Fleming, thinking I'd do my original plan of repeating the December route. But by the time I got to Genoa, 18 miles out, I felt great and the wind was not bad at all, so I decided I'd continue on to Auburn and do the entire 100 miles without looping back to Ithaca.

It was a beautiful day, temp in the 30s, and it was sunny! The sunshine was amazing. There were a few periods headed north on 34 when clouds rolled in, but for the most part I was just soaking in the sunlight.

I stopped in Auburn for pizza at about 11:30 or so, and thought about which way to go. I decided to head west on Rt 20. I hadn't planned this route, had never ridden 20, and I didn't have a map, so I wasn't sure how far I'd have to go before turning back south in order to hit 100 miles. I knew it would be at least to Seneca Falls.

Rt 20 in Auburn is not a good biking road, two lanes and no shoulder (anyone have a suggestion for an alternate to avoid this stretch?). Fortunately traffic wasn't bad, and eventually after about a mile or so a shoulder appeared. The road starts out flat but turns rolling after a while.

When I got to Rt 89, it was clear that I had to continue west to get to 100 miles; same when I got to Seneca Falls. I thought about going all the way to Geneva, but then I remembered that Waterloo was right at the junction of Rts 20 and 96, and 96 headed back down to Ithaca. The mileage seemed about right, so at Waterloo I headed south and continued on down Rt 96 through Ovid, through Interlaken, and into Trumansburg.

A few miles after Trumansburg I cut over to Rt 89 on Perry City Rd, partly because Rt 96 into Ithaca is not a good road - no shoulder - but also to add a couple extra miles to get up to 100. I cruised down P.C. Rd, getting that spectacular view of Cayuga Lake in the last 1/4 mile downhill before 89. I then turned onto 89 and headed south back into Ithaca.

This was a great ride. I felt really good the entire time. My legs felt great, and by the end, the last mile, I was able to just tear down Cascadilla and Cayuga Streets. I felt the way I usually feel after a 50 mile ride, maybe even a bit better. The weather was warm enough that it was very enjoyable, and the sun was absolutely great.

This was definitely one of my best winter century rides. Now if I can get through March, I'll be set for the year!

Route: Ithaca - Auburn - Waterloo - Trumansburg - Ithaca
Total distance: 101.10 miles
Ride time: 06:35:38
Avg speed: 15.33 mph
Total climb: 3,482 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1258 ft, on Rt 34 north of Genoa
Avg climb: 34.44 ft/mile

Ice ride on Cayuga Lake

It's been real cold the last few weeks, and Cayuga Lake has frozen over going out more than a mile.  Driving along the lake a couple of days ago I saw ice skaters way out on the lake. The ice looked very smooth.

So today I decided to go out and bike on the lake.

I took my hybrid, which has 700x40c  (2.1 inch) Kenda Klondike tires, knobby with metal studs (see closeup photo).  I rode over to Stewart Park, walked my bike through some deeper snow and over the first 20 yards or so of the lake, which was very bumpy with ice shards, and then hopped back on my bike and took off.

It was a blast riding on the lake.  The ice was very smooth, covered with thin layers of snow, a bit thicker (an inch or two) in some places. The wind was pretty minimal (which is unusual), and it was sunny.

The lake is about a mile and a quarter across, and it was frozen going out at least a mile.  I rode back and forth across the lake, and I rode out along the shore pretty far, though nowhere near the edge.  My wife had driven over and was cross country skiiing on the lake, so we met up a few times as we went back and forth across the lake.  

On the smooth parts of the ice, I got up to 17mph, though I felt comfortable at 14 and lower.  

Going straight it felt fine, though I took it real easy turning, doing so very gradually.  

It was just great being able to go so far with no climbing at all. A truly flat ride!  Also, no traffic, no salt, there weren't many people at all out on the lake.  There were some people ice fishing.  I went over to ask how thick the ice was.  Turns out it's only 4 to 7 inches thick, but that is apparently plenty thick for people.

I ended up doing about 10 miles on the lake. It was the quickest and easiest winter 10 miles I've ever done, didn't seem that far and was an absolute pleasure. Looks like it won't get anywhere near 32 degrees for the next couple of weeks, so I'll definitely be going back out onto the lake sometime soon!

January 2009 Century Ride

The route (same route I rode on Aug. 20)January can be a tough month for a century ride in upstate New York. Last year I lucked out when we had a fluke 54 degree day the first week of the month. No such luck this year.

I began scoping out advance weather forecasts at the end of December. I was looking for a day that either would be warm, or else one where the roads would be dry and the wind not too strong.

Late last week, Tuesday Jan. 6 started looking good. On Monday, I rechecked. I knew the roads would be dry, since it hadn't snowed in a couple of days. And the winds were supposed to be pretty minimal, 5-6mph from the southeast! As for the temperature, it was supposed to be in the 20s to lower 30s, but the main problem in the past had been my toes. With my new winter cycling boots that isn't a concern any more.

Since the winds were minimal, and because I wanted to do a relatively flat ride, I decided to reenact my August century ride, the one I had done in under six hours: south on 34 to Spencer and on to Waverly, east on 17c to Owego, north on 38 to Dryden then Freeville and back in on 366, Upper and Lower Creek Rds, and Hanshaw.


Outside of Ithaca, 9amI got up at 7am, had a couple of fried eggs, some cream of wheat, dry cereal, and coffee, and then dressed for my ride. I checked our thermometer, which said 13°F. But I knew it was always colder out in the countryside, so I went online and checked up in Lansing, about 8 miles north: 6°. It was going to be a cold morning.

I put on merino wool baselayers top and bottom. On the bottom I also wore a pair of biking shorts, and then a pair of denim jeans. On the top, over the wool I put on a cotton long sleeve t-shirt and then a heavy cotton sweatshirt, followed by my wind- and water-proof biking commuter jacket. On my feet I wore two pair of thick wool socks and my new Lake winter cycling boots. Between the socks I put a chemical handwarmers over my toes.


On Rt 34 headed south toward Spencer, at Tompkins-Tioga County lineOn my head I wore a thin cotton headscarf and over that a thick balaclava. I also had my Visorgogs, which are great for keeping my face and eyes warm, fit over my glasses, and don't usually fog up. They're also pretty easy to put on and take off while riding. On my hands I started out with my pearl izumi lobster claw biking gloves -- my hands have never gotten cold in them no matter how low the temperature's fallen.

I also put my Carridice Nelson Longflap bag on the back of my bike, to bring along extra clothes: two extra shirts, an extra wool top baselayer, extra (thinner) gloves, a thinner balaclava and fleece hat, extra headscarfs, some pop-tarts, chewy granola bars, extra batteries, a map.

The temperature when I left at 8:15 was about 14, but once I got up out of Ithaca it was about 8°F. I have to admit when I planned this century ride I didn't expect it to be so cold! But I was committed, so I pedalled off southward towards Spencer.


The Susquehanna, from Rt 17CWhen I reached Spencer it was up to 14° but I wasn't at all cold. My hands were fine, and best of all my toes were very warm. I stopped there for some food -- a poptart and chewy granola bar -- for about five minutes, and started to feel a bit chilled, so I continued onward toward Van Etten. I stopped at the convenience store in Lockwood (where, in September, I discovered that my seat post was broken), and had a slice of pizza, a quart of vitamin water, and some peanuts. I think the store clerk thought I was crazy to be biking in that weather... I continued on to Waverly. I made pretty good time on that leg of the trip. And I was staying warm.

By Waverly it was up to 28°, so I shed my lobster gloves and put on my fleece blaze-orange hunting gloves and headed towards Owego. It stayed between 26 and 30 the rest of the trip.


The pizza place in OwegoAt Owego I stopped at my favorite pizza place, on Lake St, for a slice. I also changed into dry clothes: a dry wool base layer shirt and cotton shirt on top of that, which is more than enough when the temperature is in the upper 20s and higher. I also took off my thick balaclava, which was soaked, and put on my thinner balaclava and fleece skull cap, again great for upper 20s and higher. I put all the wet stuff into a plastic bag and stowed it in my Nelson Longflap.

At this point I was keeping my eye on the clock because I wanted to get home before dark, but also because a big sleet and snow storm was supposed to hit at about 5pm and I definitely didn't want to be riding in that.

Comparison of speeds between August and January for this century ride route

Section	Miles	Aug 2008	Jan 2009
Ithaca-Spencer	19.5	15.28mph	12.57mph
Spencer-Waverly	17.2	17.61mph	16.23mph
Waverly-Owego	19.2	17.60mph	14.56mph
Owego-Richford	20.2	16.96mph	12.82mph*
Richford-Dryden	12.2	16.70mph	14.90mph
Dryden-Ithaca	15.0	17.62mph	15.37mph
Total	103	16.89mph	14.13mph

*See text for explanation

I pedalled off toward Richford. I was looking forward to my ride up Rt 38, since the weather reports had said there'd be a south wind of about 6 mph -- more importantly, no headwind! But my legs were feeling really weak and tired. By Newark Valley I was going about 10-11 mph, and feeling very discouraged. Just this summer I'd hammered up Rt 38 at 17mph on my August century ride, and on other rides I'd managed 15mph even into a stiff headwind. Could I have lost that much strength in just a few months? I was also concerned about timing. I'd calculated my time based on a minimum of 14mph; going only 10-11 would mean getting back home well after dark and the coming storm.

On the hill before Berkshire I decided to stop and check the seat position. And as I suspected, the seat had moved backwards about an inch on the rails. I readjusted it, bringing it forward, and immediately felt a difference. My legs felt back to normal, not tired, I was riding 14-16mph, and I felt a lot better. It's amazing how much difference such a little adjustment can make! I should have checked this much earlier, since I knew this was a problem from earlier experience. Ah well, live and learn. I'll have to tighten that seat a lot more!


Just north of Owego on Rt.38, 1:30pmThe rest of the ride was uneventful. I stopped in Dryden for some snacks, and got home at about 4:50, twilight but no snow or sleet yet.

My toes were warm the entire trip, which was real nice. The rest of me stayed warm too; the only time I got a bit chilled was when I stopped for more than a few minutes and wasn't indoors.

My time was a lot slower than in August: my average for the August century ride was 16.89mph. This time it was 14.15mph; I calculate that if I hadn't been going so slow on 38, it would have been 14.7mph. Still, it is amazing how much difference training makes. I have biked regularly since October, but my mileage really fell off after that, and in December I was way down.

I also felt really wiped out after this ride, much more tired overall than after any century in the past year. I think it was in part because I didn't drink enough -- both of my water bottles froze up -- but also maybe because my body spent a lot of energy keeping me warm in the cold temperatures.

I'm hoping I have a good dry, clear-roads day in February, not too cold, not too windy. I'll double check my seat position, and hope that I can break 15mph.

Route: Ithaca - Spencer - Waverly - Owego - Richford - Dryden - Freeville - Ithaca
Total distance: 103.82 miles
Ride time: 07:21:00
Avg speed: 14.13 mph
Total climb: 3070 ft
Low point: 394 ft, Ithaca
High point: 1289 ft, on Rt 38 between Harford and Dryden
Avg climb: 28.60 ft/mile

2008 review

Keuka Lake, century and a half ride, July2008 was my first full season of cycling. It was a great year.

I started serious riding in July 2007, and clocked 2,570 miles that year. I set my goals for 2008 at 5,000 miles and 250,000 feet of climbing, for an average climb of 50 ft/mile. I managed to beat my original mileage goal by over 50%, coming in at the end of 2008 with 7,648 miles. I passed my original climbing goal in September, and my final climbing total was 359,473 ft. For my average climb I came in under my goal, at 47 ft/mile, in part because I discovered the nice flat routes to the south of here...


Millard Hill Rd, October I also set a 2008 goal of a century a month. I ended up doing 17 century rides in 2008. I lucked out in January, with a 54 degree day ride, and suffered through February and March. The rest of the year I did at least one century a month, and in four months I did more than one: in May, August and September I did two centuries, and in July I did three.

My favorite century rides were the NY City ride in September, and my century and a half ride (which I'll blog about sometime soon) in July. I also had two almost-centuries -- the STBC "Crazy Eight" century in September, the other in Marin County, Calif. in November. Both ended early because of equipment failure: the STBC century because of a broken seat post, the Marin one because of a tire and wheel failure. My fastest 2008 century came in August, when I did a sub-6 hour 100 miles. My average on that 103 mile route (with 2,880 ft of climbing) was 16.89 mph.

2008 Mileage by month

Jan 305

Feb 307

Mar 292

Apr 310

May 716

Jun 748

Jul 1109

Aug 838

Sep 1162

Oct 905

Nov 551

Dec 404

St Lawrence River, from 1000 Islands Bridge,
September I explored lots of new roads, both at home and in other places. I biked a lot in the southern tier, discovering the joys of riding on flat roads. I did the Spencer-Waverly-Owego route a number of times, also the route between Richford and Owego, and I really liked the very flat route from Bath to Spencer on my century and a half ride. I also rode some great hills, including the beautifully hilly ride from Watkins Glen to Hammondsport, the back hills of Newfield, and the hills south of Ithaca.

I also managed to do a few rides outside of the region: in eastern Ontario; along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and around Kingston; in the Niagara Frontier; and, one of my all-time favorite rides, in Marin County, California.


Fall Creek, Rt 222 at Lafayette, MarchI got 'bent this year, starting with my buddy Tommie's LWB Rans Tailwind, then moving up to his SWB Giro Bacchetta 20. I ended up doing 967 miles on the Tailwind, and 588 on the Giro, for a total of 1,555 'bent miles, about 20% of my total miles. I have no plans to go totally over to "the dark side," but will try to remain a bi-cyclist. I find that riding the 'bent helped me be stronger on my road bike, and since it uses different sets of muscles it can't hurt.

I did 92 commute rides in 2008, mostly on my Univega Activa Country hybrid, for a total of 487 miles of commuter biking. I climbed a total of 51,274 feet on my commutes, for an average commuting climb of about 105 feet/mile. If I only counted the uphill portion of the commute, that would come to an average to-work commute climb of 210 feet/mile.


Along Rt 34 between Ithaca & Spencer, MayI spent the equivalent of more than 22 solid days on my bikes in 2008 (536 hours 57 minutes 58 seconds). My average speed for all rides was 14.45mph. For training rides on my Felt road bike (minus commutes, errands and leisure rides), my average speed was 15.18 mph, with an average climb of 43.86 ft/mile. This was a nice jump from my 2007 Felt average of 14.30. My best averages on my Felt came in August and September: on non-commute and non-leisure rides, I was clocking between 16 and 17 mph averages. My fastest ride was in late September, with 17.74 mph over 23 miles with 1100 feet of climbing (my 'Conlon Rd loop'). As noted above, my fastest century ride, in late August, was 16.89 mph. I'm hoping to up those numbers over the next year.


Winter ride: February century, Rt 366Since I only started road cycling in July 2007, I learned a lot in this, my first full season. I bought some actual cycling clothes, including lycra biking shorts. On my last ride of the year I also wore my Lake Winter Cycling boots, conquering what had been one of the biggest challenges for my winter cycling: cold feet. I learned about cadence, and got a cyclometer that measures cadence, which has really helped me be more efficient cyclist. I dropped 30 pounds from my June 2007 weight (though I've put of few of them back on over the past couple of weeks), and finally got my HDL (good) cholesterol up into a nice healthy zone.


My Felt Z80 road bike, at Hickories
Park, Owego, SeptemberI joined Bike Journal in December 2007, which really helped me exceed my goals. I ended up ranked 255th for outdoor miles, and number 5 in New York State. I came in number 2 for the year among STBC members on Bike Journal, only 105 miles behind number one, karcod. I have to thank karcod not only for the rides we did together but also for inspiring me to pump out more mileage.

One of the best parts of my 2008 biking experience was hooking up with the Southern Tier Bike Club (STBC). My first group ride was their Watkins Glen event. That's when I joined STBC, and I ended up doing a number of their other events. I've met some great people, did some great rides with Karl, Reg, Denny, Doug, Jim, Mike and others, and am looking forward to doing a lot more rides with them in the next year.


On the Rans Tailwind, outside of GananoqueI also had a great time with the RARE (Rochester Area Recumbent Enthusiasts) crew, who in 2007 had provided me with my first experience of group rides. They're a great bunch of guys and I love riding with them. This year I actually did their annual Kingston ride on a 'bent. I'm looking forward to more 'bent rides with Michael, Dave, Cliff, Mark, Denny, Frank and the rest of the 'bent guys in the new year. And of course thanks especially to my 'bent buddy Tommie, who started me on this obsession in July 2007 by dragging me out on bike rides at 6 in the morning, and who's lent me his recumbents in a semi-successful attempt to lure me over to the dark side.

And of course the beauty of riding in the Finger Lakes was one of the high points and motivating factors this past year as well. Especially now, with the roads covered with snow, I look back nostalgically at those long warm days of summer, when I could just jump on my bike and ride the hills and valleys, enjoying the lakes and countryside of the region.


One of my favorite stretches:
Forest Home Drive, in AugustSo my goals for the coming year are modest. I want to set goals that are do-able, and my totals depend on weather, work and health, none of which are certain at this point. So I'm setting them, in metric terms, at 10,000 km and 100,000 meters, or in other words, 6,500 miles and 330,000 feet. I'll also set a challenge goal for myself (thanks to brucew for the concept) of 8,000 miles for the year.

I'm also going to try to do 18 centuries this coming year, and hope that I don't have equipment failure. I'd love to do another northern California ride, but may not make it out there. But I'd like to do at least one new century ride this year, maybe the Highlander if my schedule works for that, or the ride in the Adirondacks. I may also do a multi-day tour from home down to the Virginia Beach area in early summer.

Apart from those tangible goals, my more important goals for cycling are to stay healthy, to hang out with cycling buddies and meet new ones, to enjoy the beauty going by as I ride through the Finger Lakes or anywhere else I happen to be.