The beautiful weather was certainly not the reason for my commuting by bicycle three times this week. Tuesdays ride home was wet, Thursday was nice but the morning ride was cool and damp. This morning was pretty nice I must say, but not a week that makes one think that bicycling to work is the most appealing alternative to driving.
At any rate, I rode to work on Tuesday, Thursday (by myself) and again today. It's nice to come home at the end of the day and walk into the house with my bike gear on. I like to think that I'm creating a positive influence for the kids to see me riding the bike to work.
My 10 year old had been bugging me to ride with him so on Saturday I am taking him to the Cape Cod canal for a 14 mile ride. I'm looking forward to it and I think we will have a great time. He loves to ride and I know that he would ride more if I made the effort to ride with him so that's my goal. I'm not one for New Years resolutions - but riding more with my kids would be a good one! In this months bicycling magazine there is a great article by Joe Kurmaskie (sp?) who wrote Momentum is your friend which is a fantastic book I read a couple years ago. In this months Bicycling article, Joe talks about riding 3000 miles with his wife and 3 kids. A great read that I found to be just the motivation I needed to get out with my kids on the bikes.
Not that I'm going to pack up the kids and head up to Canada but I can certainly get them over to the Cape Cod Canal for 15 miles or so.
Quick little addition to this post - make sure you check out this 84 year old woman that does the MS ride on her singlespeed. Don't miss the fact that she wears a dress and heels!
See ya
Showing posts with label cycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cycling. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
This week in commuting!
Again this morning I crept around in the dark of my bedroom trying to properly dress for a cool/damp commute without waking up my sleeping wife. The right cycling clothing can truly make or break my time in the saddle, and when it's cool and wet (or even raining) the clothing is even more important. My ride home on Tuesday was certainly wet, but I was warm and comfortable none the less.
I am still riding my road bike while my singlespeed sits unassembled and un-painted in my cellar. The singlespeed will be my dedicated commuting bike throughout the winter but until it's done I migrated my headlight, tail light and seat bag on to my LOOK.
As I rode this morning the roads were still a bit damp and covered in leaves and pine needles. My thoughts bounced between pure appreciation that I can ride my bicycle to work on a fall morning, and sheer terror that my skinny 700x 23c tires would betray me on the wet leaves. I have been on the lookout for some good all-weather 700c tires that I can use on my singlespeed - let me know if you have any recommendations!
There is certainly something about riding in less than ideal conditions that appeals to the true cyclist in me. Heading out into cold wet darkness on a bicycle is one of those rites of passage for a cyclist. It also adds many dimensions to an otherwise generic ride - such as having to be more alert of traffic and weather conditions, dressing properly, and the overall feeling of taking pleasure in something that most folks would think entirely miserable. Of course, they probably haven't tried it!
Ride safe!
Patrick
I am still riding my road bike while my singlespeed sits unassembled and un-painted in my cellar. The singlespeed will be my dedicated commuting bike throughout the winter but until it's done I migrated my headlight, tail light and seat bag on to my LOOK.
As I rode this morning the roads were still a bit damp and covered in leaves and pine needles. My thoughts bounced between pure appreciation that I can ride my bicycle to work on a fall morning, and sheer terror that my skinny 700x 23c tires would betray me on the wet leaves. I have been on the lookout for some good all-weather 700c tires that I can use on my singlespeed - let me know if you have any recommendations!
There is certainly something about riding in less than ideal conditions that appeals to the true cyclist in me. Heading out into cold wet darkness on a bicycle is one of those rites of passage for a cyclist. It also adds many dimensions to an otherwise generic ride - such as having to be more alert of traffic and weather conditions, dressing properly, and the overall feeling of taking pleasure in something that most folks would think entirely miserable. Of course, they probably haven't tried it!
Ride safe!
Patrick
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Kancamagus Highway
There are certainly times on a ride like we did yesterday when everything comes into question. Why am I doing this by choice? Why do my knees hurt, they don't usually? Am I drinking/eating enough? Is this almost over?
Monday night after work we headed for the Mt. Coolidge Motel in Lincoln, NH which is amazing if you need a place to crash in Lincoln. It is right off the highway, and may be the cleanest motel I have ever stayed in - seriously! Dennis, who owns the place, couldn't have been nicer and even let us keep the cars at the motel while we rode, as well as use the showers when we returned. (Thanks Dennis!)
Roger and I got to Lincoln around 9:30, checked in, and headed over to the Woodstock Inn and brewery in Woodstock, about 3 miles down Route 3. We met up with Kent and Matt, two of the guys we were riding with the next day. We all had a beer waiting for the rest of our 8 guys to show up. The beer menu at the Inn is great, and the menu has a little something for everyone. We hung out until about 11 and headed back to the motel.
Our plan was to be on the road by 8, which we were. We got up at 7, packed the cars, ate, and made all the last minute decisions about what we "need" to bring based on the forecast, etc. I tend to be on the safe side and wore a long sleeve base layer under my jersey while stuffing a vest and arm warmers in my pocket. The vest came in very handy on the 45 mph descents!
The 78 mile loop we did is a great way to do the ride. Roger and I had done it last fall and we knew what to expect. There was some discussion as to what direction we should do the loop and we decided on the same way we did it last time. We did the Kancamagus climb to start the day. It is the hardest climb of the day (not the steepest) so we got it out of the way early. We also figured if the weather got worse, we would rather not be on the pass in the rain.
We rode up Kancamagus Highway and over the pass. Turned left onto Bear Notch road, left on 302 which is where the steepest climbs are (although they apparently only 9% grade that was enough for me!). We then turned left onto Route 3 which is a long, gradual climb that eventually leads to the bike path. The ride pretty much ends on the bike path which is the best way to end this ride. It is a few miles of a winding path through the woods which I find to be more like a video game than a bike ride. It is very fast, very twisty, and VERY FUN!
The ride itself went great. There are some times when it's challenging and personally tests my will, but overall it is a great ride and a real test. We were lucky enough to have no (serious) mechanicals, no flats, no crashes, and no health issues!
Our final high-speed descent led up right into the parking lot of the Coolidge Motel where we took showers, changed, and then back to the Woodstock Inn for lunch.
Overall it was 77.62 miles, we had about 4:40 of riding time, 5,500 feet of climbing, averaged about 16 mph, and I hit a max speed of about 45 mph on the last descent coming back into Lincoln.
Details of the ride here (from Matt's Garmin)
All in all a great ride with a great group of guys.
Monday night after work we headed for the Mt. Coolidge Motel in Lincoln, NH which is amazing if you need a place to crash in Lincoln. It is right off the highway, and may be the cleanest motel I have ever stayed in - seriously! Dennis, who owns the place, couldn't have been nicer and even let us keep the cars at the motel while we rode, as well as use the showers when we returned. (Thanks Dennis!)
Roger and I got to Lincoln around 9:30, checked in, and headed over to the Woodstock Inn and brewery in Woodstock, about 3 miles down Route 3. We met up with Kent and Matt, two of the guys we were riding with the next day. We all had a beer waiting for the rest of our 8 guys to show up. The beer menu at the Inn is great, and the menu has a little something for everyone. We hung out until about 11 and headed back to the motel.
Our plan was to be on the road by 8, which we were. We got up at 7, packed the cars, ate, and made all the last minute decisions about what we "need" to bring based on the forecast, etc. I tend to be on the safe side and wore a long sleeve base layer under my jersey while stuffing a vest and arm warmers in my pocket. The vest came in very handy on the 45 mph descents!
The 78 mile loop we did is a great way to do the ride. Roger and I had done it last fall and we knew what to expect. There was some discussion as to what direction we should do the loop and we decided on the same way we did it last time. We did the Kancamagus climb to start the day. It is the hardest climb of the day (not the steepest) so we got it out of the way early. We also figured if the weather got worse, we would rather not be on the pass in the rain.
We rode up Kancamagus Highway and over the pass. Turned left onto Bear Notch road, left on 302 which is where the steepest climbs are (although they apparently only 9% grade that was enough for me!). We then turned left onto Route 3 which is a long, gradual climb that eventually leads to the bike path. The ride pretty much ends on the bike path which is the best way to end this ride. It is a few miles of a winding path through the woods which I find to be more like a video game than a bike ride. It is very fast, very twisty, and VERY FUN!
The ride itself went great. There are some times when it's challenging and personally tests my will, but overall it is a great ride and a real test. We were lucky enough to have no (serious) mechanicals, no flats, no crashes, and no health issues!
Our final high-speed descent led up right into the parking lot of the Coolidge Motel where we took showers, changed, and then back to the Woodstock Inn for lunch.
Overall it was 77.62 miles, we had about 4:40 of riding time, 5,500 feet of climbing, averaged about 16 mph, and I hit a max speed of about 45 mph on the last descent coming back into Lincoln.
Details of the ride here (from Matt's Garmin)
All in all a great ride with a great group of guys.
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