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