I'm thinking of starting a new blog series documenting some of the great rides I've been on over the years. There have been many and some have a tale or two attached. This blog series is only here so I can recall some things that happened and maybe get some of the people who I may have ridden with to help me out with some of the finer details. I'm not much of a writer, so it's more just random thoughts from memories. Everything is true though.
Quite a few years back, my Dad, some brothers and a few friends decided we were going to ride up to Oneida Lake in New York for our annual family reunion. Uncle Stanley had a cottage, boats docked on the lake, a fishing lodge and plenty of land to hold a party for the 100+ relatives that showed up every year. It generally lasted from Friday through Sunday the first weekend in August.
None of us were in any real riding shape, we were mostly a bunch of runners back then. I seem to recall this was the Summer before my first year of college. I had to report to Cross-Country camp in a few more weeks and figured a long ride would be kinda cool. The plan was to start out at 4am and ride straight through until we got there, about 225 miles. My Dad had either his old Gitane or Motobecane he bought for $15 or $20 from a flea-market, Mike was riding his new mountain bike and Chris on his Fuji. I was probably riding my old Schwinn Super LeTour. I loved that bike and it served me well over the years. I'm not sure what Gerard or my other brothers were riding.
We started out from my parents house and I remember my dad saying he couldn't see a thing, it was completely pitch black out. Heading up Talcott's Hill through a blanket of trees at 4am, he kept asking us to talk his way up. He just followed our voices. I guess he was in his early 50's at the time and his eyes for seeing in the dark weren't what they used to be. Anyway, the sun started to rise over the horizon soon enough and we'd be ok. Mike was having a difficult time on his new Mountain Bike, and I was worried he wouldn't be able to keep up, or we'd never make it in one day.
Now, I've ridden through all the northeastern and mid-atlantic states and have never come across hill riding that's more of a bitch than the road between Tunkhannock, PA and Montrose, PA. I suspect my Brothers and Dad would back me up on this. It's a series of ups and downs that seem to never end. When early settlers came to this area 300-400 years ago, the English translation learned from the Native Americans living in the area is The Endless Mountains. Never have I heard a more appropriate description for a place. OK, maybe The Grand Canyon. I've ridden that stretch maybe a half dozen times and driven it in a car many more times. It's totally deceiving from behind the wheel of a car and would suggest a detour to anyone heading up into New York or New England through that particular area by bike unless you want to spend a few hours in the house of pain. It was slow going and by lunchtime we were already pretty dead tired, particularly Mike who was off the back the whole way. I kept circling back to help pull him along. My dad, being probably the toughest, always in shape whether he rides or not guy I ever met was doing well, and my brother Ed, the second toughest, was hanging in there too. At least they weren't complaining.
The weather started looking really bad right after we hit the New York Border south of Binghamton but luckily it was August and warm. Once you get into New York, the roads level out nicely and it's pretty smooth sailing from there all the way up to Syracuse. I think my brother Ed and I really started getting our legs about 30 miles south of Syracuse so we went on ahead to try and beat the heavier rain and wait for the others when we got to the city.
Mike was hurting really badly by now on this knobby-tired mountain bike and our patience was wearing thin so everyone went ahead of him. It was mid-afternoon by now but the sky was pitch black with heavy clouds. As we came down a slight hill into Syracuse it started to pour. Not just a heavy rain, but a cats, dogs and old Gitanes kind of rain so we all stopped under an awning along the street and waited for Mike. After about 30 minutes we started getting worried, after 45 Mike finally came rolling up the street soaked to the bone and bleeding from various places. He got hit by a taxi cab and was hobbled a bit by it, but seemed to be feeling ok. I guess that earned him some respect from the rest of us so we stuck together through Syracuse and continuted north.
One thing I've noticed about riding long distances while touring like this is that after a certain amount of suffering on the bike, things start to smooth out and you find yourself riding with little effort and covering some serious amounts of road. It's a great place to be. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes it take hours I guess. For me, I think it always hit after about 10-12 hours on the bike. I remember my dad, in a journal he kept for another of our epic rides, finding his groove on the third day after probably 350 miles of riding. I think the older you get, the longer it takes to find this groove.
By the time we reached our first sighting of the Lake, we were all flying along at a pretty good clip and knew it was only about another 30 miles until we could finally get off the damn bikes, rest, eat, hot shower. We sorta left Mike dangle off the back again as adrenalin took over and the speeds really picked up.
A few miles from my uncle's the sun came out, making everything seem to glow. It was just before sunset and the warmth on my back felt really good after such a long day and hours of rain. I really have to give some props to Mike for riding so damn hard on that mountain bike all day and to my dad, one tough old guy who's always ready to tackle any challenge.
To Ed, has that rash from all the chaffing healed yet? Talk about legendary,...
You gotta love what Scott Nydam, Jackson Stewart and the whole BMC team did last week. They were so impressive in the Tour of California they've been getting some great invites in Europe. First the Criterium International, now the Tour de Romandie. 
I was on something like a 12 day in a row run without any time off the bike so tonight I decided to watch some tv and kick back. Nothing on TV except American Idol I guess. I'm not sure why but I never got into the show so I skipped that. I did watch the last 20 minutes of Survivor though. The immunity challenges are still kind of entertaining for me.
Now that my bottom bracket is making such a racket, I'm longing for the time when I had the tools to fix any possible problem that could arise on my bikes. I actually do have a lot of tools for working on my car and bike, but I don't have either a crank puller or a bottom bracket tool at the moment and I could really use one. Drats!
In honor of those famous words said by Rodney King so long ago. Can't we all just get along? The UCI has fired it's latest salvo against the ASO. It could be a bumpy year for pro-cycling.
In my travels, (Serotta Forum) I found this interesting image of the warm-up routine before the prologue for some pros at the Tour of California. I think this could be adapted/modified pretty well for just about anyone who wants a nice warm-up for a crit or tt. It's an hour and I'd be tired and ready for my beer after this, but you know what I mean.
Last night while I was on the trainer, I listened to the Fredcast and they interviewed Michael Ball from Rock & Republic (Rock Racing). I will admit that I think Michael is a seriously good fashion designer and a serious fan of bicycle racing. After watching every stage of this year's race, it's clear that cycling as a sport has an incredibly bright future. It's exciting to watch and Michael Ball seems to know this. Maybe he does ruffle some feathers, but he's onto something.
Today was one of the perfect days where everything comes together. This morning I woke up to a completely blue sky and not much to do. Eggs and Toast for breakfast, a favorite, 4 hours of riding in cold, but sunny weather, Tour of California on the Adobe Tour Tracker, a dinner cooked by my wife, Korean dishes that put the very good Korean bbq we frequent to shame, then watching Tommy Zirbel (Bissell) breaking for a win, only to have George Hincapie (Team High Road) catch him to take the final stage of the Tour of California.
While watching the Amgen Tour of California Adobe Tour Tracker today I realized all over again why I love riding bicycles. Watching the break mashing away in vain at the pedals with less than 3 miles to go, Robert Millar taking a flyer, bridging, pulling the remnants of the break to within 1000 meters of the finish, only to be swallowed by a molten river of peloton, it's just beautiful to watch. The whole thing is uplifting. Look at the twinkle in Bettini's eye up there. That's what it's all about. 
This week's Left Nut of the Week goes to the Scott Addict LTD. Sometimes I wonder what a 13lb bike feels like, or if that Dimpled Water Bottle below will save me more time than this would? After looking at the price tag of this thing, I think I'll get the water-bottle, but this thing is definitely Shuwing Sweet!
I've always been somewhat of a Levi Leipheimer fan for his sheer talent as a mountain climber, time trialist, and all'round good guy, but his laid-back California vibe and outlook on things including racing, seems so counter to the killer instinct we all (well maybe me anyway) normally associated with true champions. 
I was on the trainer tonight listening to the Tri-Talk podcast and the guy said that this dimpled water bottle from rocket science sports will save you 53 seconds over a 40k Time Trial. That got me to thinking, I know, dangerous but,... 
This week's Left Nut of the Week is going for a book that isn't particularly expensive, read, (attainable by even me) but it's so drool worthy that it should be on every cyclist's coffee table. I think the joyous pain associated with cycling just might be best summed up within the pages of this book, in images and words. I checked it out at Borders, briefly since I didn't wanna ruin the experience for when I break down and buy it, but it's a gotta have.
I did my current favorite loop today out into Howard County, through Sykesville, then back across Liberty Dam towards home. The wind actually felt warm on my face for the first time this year, which was really nice. Unfortunately, my legs didn't feel any where near as good as the rest of me, especially on the hills. I found that it takes me a good 15 miles to start feeling good like my legs have anything in them to give as I get older. I can't hammer the pedals right off the bat like my younger days.
I was browsing some pics from the North American Handmade Bicycle Show and came away with a few impressions I'd like to share here. You see, right now, in Portland, Oregon there's this show going on where many of the top frame-builders in the USA have gathered to show off what they can do. To me, it feels like a gathering to celebrate the craft of creating something with your bare hands, but it's more than that. I want to say that what they create is art, but I'm not sure that's what it is either.
It was bright and sunny, so I was actually sweating when I got into the office. Something I noticed made me wonder. As I'm taking a shortcut through the Safeway parking lot I passed by Tweeter and noticed a couple of the workers standing outside smoking cigarettes. I know smoking has become more and more rare since I don't even know anyone that smokes anymore, but, I wonder how many hours, world-wide, are wasted by people going outside for a smoke break? Or, maybe that smoking break is a good thing for them. I read somewhere once that regular bullshitting on the job actually increases productivity. I'm not anti-smoking, as I think every person should make their own mind up whether they want to smoke or not, but still,... Why are smoking breaks more workplace acceptable than say,... I'm going outside to bullshit for 10 minutes 5-8 times each day?
The only problem I see with my Left Nut of the Week is that I'm nowhere near fast enough to wear such things of beauty. I mean, if you have these, you better be fast. I would hope your bike and team colors match also. Still, they're sumthin else. Yowch!
In some parts of the world it's already the new lunar year, the year of the rat begins, so I'm going to wish everyone a happy new year from my little blog here on the www. Particularly, I wanna wish my extended family in Singapore a Happy Chinese New Year, and hope it's a good year for all.
One particular brand that's caught my eye lately is etxe ondo. If you know how it's pronounced let me know. So the guy's got Zoolander's Magnum look down cold, or is it Blue-Steel? The girl model is semi-hot and the designs are pretty cool if you ask me. Like I said earlier, it's inexplicable, so I won't bother trying to explain any further. For now,...
Being relatively new to Maryland, I'm still trying to find those great traffic free routes for training on like I used to enjoy back in Pennsylvania. Looking back, I took all of those great roads for granted and wish I had more like that here. It really makes a difference when you aren't dodging tire shredding objects on the side of the road, along with all the cars and trucks. We are all of 4 weeks into the new year, and I've had two flats already, including one this last Saturday only 5 miles into a ride. I picked up some Panaracer Stradius Pro's Saturday to try and cut down on flat tires. We'll see how it goes, but that's a topic for another blog entry.
I gave it everything I had. I ignored it, I denied it, I even took some pills, but in the end, deep down, I knew I was gonna lose. Everyone in the family has been sick over the last week and today at work I started feeling that light-headed start of something big coming. Now, the chills, fever, sore throat, blah. I've got the Flu I think.
