Truer Words - A Journal

PMC Day 1: Sturbridge to Bourne, by the Numbers

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 03:03:02 GMT

Saturday, August 2, 2008

This was my sixth year riding the PMC, and my fourth year to include the Huckleberries ride (which makes it a three-day event). Those previous three years, I was totally exhausted on Saturday morning from the hard ride on Friday.

This year was different...

Rides #37, #42 and #44: Friends, Hills, and the Slimming Effects of Lightning

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:25:31 GMT

Corinne has been hearing about my lack of updates here on [tw] from her friends, who I think mostly just want more pictures of Lauren (I don't blame them!). I've been much too quiet lately.

I'm going to pay for that quietness, soon. The PMC is in less than two months, and I haven't raised a penny yet. What an idiot.

This particular update, however, is not about Lauren, Corinne, her friends, or the PMC. It's about my riding (and weight loss) over the last month. I'll start with:

Ride #37: Birthday Loop with Steve

Steve Davis came down on May 23rd to ride the storied Birthday Loop with me.

Steve is in fantastic shape, much better for mid-Spring than I've ever known him to be, since we started riding together years ago.

I, on the other hand, was still getting over my cold. I'd only ridden three times in the previous two weeks, and was still coughing quite a bit.

The result: Steve was very patient with me. We did the whole ride, of course, but averages only 17.5 mph. He easily could have handled a 19 mph average, which is quite impressive with all the climbing.

My stats are missing a couple of miles because my bike computer mysteriously shut off for a little while. However, Steve had exactly the same average speed as I did when we were done, so I'm just going to stick with what mine said.

Stats: 52.56 miles (84.62 km) in 3h 0' 0" for an average speed of 17.52 mph (28.20 kph).

Ride #42: Cracked 260

This ride is notable only because I finally cracked 260. That is, my weight finally dropped below it.

I thought that was quite an accomplishment, so I checked my stats for last year. EXACTLY THE SAME DATE!! Oy! Still, last year my weight was only below 260 for two days, then it went back up and stayed there for another month. This year, it's continued going down, and I'm hoping to drop below 250 before the end of the month.

How far can I drop before PMC? This will be my sixth PMC, and I've never been below 250.

Stats: 43.91 miles (70.69 km) in 2h 17' 12" for an average speed of 19.20 mph (30.91 kph).

Ride #44: Lightning Has Struck My Brain!

Sorry, the title for this ride was just a hook to get you to read the story. (Ok ok, I'll stop. I'm sure Sean, at least, is moaning by now...)

This ride was on Sunday, the beginning of our current heat wave. I left the house planning to do the birthday loop again, after spending 45 minutes carefully cleaning up my drivetrain. The first 20 miles were quite hot, but I can handle hot. After the first ten miles, I saw the storm coming in but hoped it was going to pass to the North.

No such luck.

I climbed Cossaduck hearing thunder. Second time this year I've managed to climb it "out of the saddle" from bottom to top. Once again, I forgot to set the lap timer on my bike computer, so I have no idea how much I've improved. (My first trip up the hill this year was a pitiful 4:40!!)

Heard a lot more thunder while I was on Gilliver, but they were still five or six seconds after the flash so I figured I was ok. At that point, I was riding away from the storm.

In the last mile of Route 49, just before the turn onto Wyassup, the sprinkling started and I knew the storm was going to catch me, but now I was in farm country. What was I supposed to do? I kept riding.

On Wyassup, with the thunder rolling almost constantly, I crested one of the hills telling myself "think negative thoughts! Think negative!" But, at the top of one of the two hills (I can't remember which, now, but I think it was the second), everything around me when bright purple! I'm not kidding, I thought for a split second that I'd been struck. There was enough time for me to yell "yi" before my "yikes!" was drowned out in the loudest thunder I've heard in 30 years.

I wasn't hit, obviously, but it must have been cloud-to-cloud right over head. That was exciting.

(When I was quite young, I remember standing at my grandparents back door in Berkley, MA, when lightning struck the back yard. That was some kind of loud, and I've had a love for lightning every since.)

After that, the rain started in earnest and I just rode home. That took about ten miles off the ride, but it was fun. (Now I need to clean my drive train again!)

Stats: 44.67 miles (71.91 km) in 2h 30' 21" for an average speed of 17.82 mph (28.70 kph).

Oh, and I'm now down to 254. :-D

Ride #25: Gotta Love Those Rest Days!

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:42:47 GMT

In the eight days from the 14th to the 21st, I rode seven times. The only day I missed was Friday the 18th. 236 miles (380 km) in eight days (seven rides). That's one of my best weeks ever, not counting the PMC every year.

But, all that riding really doesn't do you much good if you don't take a rest once in a while. Tuesday the 22nd I worked form Rich's house all day (before picking up Corinne, Ellyn and Lauren from the airport that night. It's wonderful to have my girls home!) So, no ride. Then on Wednesday I worked on stuff for Bare Bones in the morning and working on my (LAST) midweek Bible class in the afternoon. Another day off.

By this morning I was feeling fat again. Mark and I drove up to visit Mike (Lauren's dad) at his "home away from home" in Somers, CT, and I had a Big Mac for lunch. Yay nutrition! By the time we got home I felt fat and lazy. Time for a ride!

As of today I've lost eight pounds since the beginning of the month, and twelve pounds since my heaviest weight this year. My weight is now down to the same as it was at this time last year, but I'm trending down. (Last year, I endured a very long plateau. I'm being much smarter this year.)

Today is also a nice little anniversary. It's been four years since my first ride on my wonderful Seven Axiom Steel. I'm still so ridiculously happy with this bike... it's definitely my favorite-major-purchase of all time.

Here are the total and average stats for those four years:

Summary of rides from 4/24/2004 to 4/24/2008
Rides:	495	Miles:	19278.36 miles (31025.51 km)	Time:	42day 7h 55m 12s
Avg. Speed:	18.97 mph (30.53 kph)	Avg. Miles:	38.94 miles (62.66 km)	Avg. Time:	2h 3m 8s

Fastest	22.05 mph (35.48 kph)	Miles:	21.12 miles (33.98 km)	Date:	9/12/2005
Slowest	15.5 mph (24.94 kph)	Miles:	9.0 miles (14.48 km)	Date:	4/24/2004

Avg. Weight:	257 lbs	Max Weight:	297 lbs	Min Weight:	239 lbs

Wow. Almost 20,000 miles in four years! (That table will only look right on the the site, not in email. You've been warned.)

When looking at those weights, please keep in mind that I'm 6' 9". 297 is heavy even for me, but 257 isn't too bad, and I'm quite happy when I'm in the 240's by mid-summer.

One last thing: the weather this April has been unreal. It's been more than two weeks since we had any rain, has been bright and sunny almost all of that time, and it was in the upper 70's today! It feels great now, but what does this say about the upcoming summer? I'm worried we're going to fry, and this is starting to feel like the makings of a drought. Two rainless weeks in April? Uh oh. (This weekend has rain in the forecast. We'll see.)

Tomorrow I'll do the big hill ride again if I can knock off enough time for it.

Stats: 42.59 miles (68.56 km) in 2h 18' 7" for an average speed of 18.50 mph (29.78 kph).

Life, the Universe, and Everything

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:18:37 GMT

Shannon started working last week at the Staples in New London.

Shannon's mom came up for the week with Shannon's son, Richie. For about half the week Richie was here with us, the other half he was with her mom. She also gave Shannon her manual-transmission Jeep. We're working on teaching Shannon to drive it. Shannon doesn't stall at every intersection, and she doesn't panic every time there's a car approaching on the right.

I have the flu.

The Blazer and Toyota are both on the road again. Knock knock.

Doris Sternberg, an old family friend and my mom's surrogate-mother for the last 20 years, died last night. She was quite old, and was loved by pretty much everybody. (I remember picking Aunt Doris up at her apartment every Wednesday night when I was a teenager in NH, to drive her to Bible class.) She'll be missed, terribly, but we know we'll see her again.

Lauren and Shannon have started to come to an understanding. Shannon's forcing it a little, but babies adapt very quickly. All Shannon really cares about right now is that Lauren start calling her "mommy" ASAP. Sigh.

She's even trying to compete with us for Lauren's attention, though I'm not sure she's aware of it. (And, it's a very one-sided competition.) Example: yesterday Lauren had some toy in her hand, and was holding it out to me. Every time I put out my hand so she could give it to me, she'd snatch it back and smile devilishly. Shannon saw it happen and immediately started asking, "Can I have it? Lauren, can I have it?" Lauren gave it to her, and Shannon showered her with praise and thank-you's. ::shrug::

Corinne is thinking about Shane even more than usual, these days, as we approach the anniversary. It all starts with the Super Bowl (which, in 2004, was when we started seeing a lot of him again). She went through a really bad patch last week when Richie was here and she was feeling overwhelmed, but she's better now.

I plan to start asking for donations for the PMC software auctions this month.

I'm sorry that updates have been so few and far between this year. I barely have time to live this life, never mind write about it.

I Blame Mom

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:56:56 GMT

Corinne went to Westerly this morning with Lauren (for class), just a minute or two before this snowstorm started. Oops. An hour later, and the ground is already covered. She's on her way home again.

Those who know my Mom will totally understand this entry's title. ;-)

I Am A Comedy of Errors

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:09:42 GMT

Yesterday afternoon I went for a ~31 mile bike ride. Due to weather and travel, it was my first ride in eight days.

When I ride, I put a cheap cell phone, my debit card, and an old license in a zip-lock bag, and put the bag in a jersey pocket. I can pick up Gu, Gatorade or a new tube if needed, or I can call Corinne for a pick-up. If I'm knocked out (as happened nine years ago), the old license will tell people who I am.

After a ride, I put the bag on the shelf by my bike. I'm all sweaty, so pulling everything out of the bag at that moment would defeat the purpose of the bag.

Well, this morning I awoke Lauren at 7:20 so we could drive up to see her dad (Mike) during the morning visiting hours, and still be home in time for a few hours of work and another short ride. First stop: the Dunkin Donuts right up the street, for coffee. I waited in line for ten minutes (grr), and then — at the window — realized I didn't have my wallet. They know me, and told me to just take it.

Drove back to the house, grabbed my wallet from the shelf next to my bike (in the garage), and left again. Corinne just shook her head. I could hear her thinking, "That's my husband!"

We needed gas, but were running a little late so decided I'd go back to pay for the coffee this afternoon, and just head for the prison in Somers, CT. Plenty of gas stations on the way (the Dunkin Donuts is at a gas statiion).

The first, just three miles from the house, was closed for renovations. So, we continued to Norwich and stopped at a big, new Citgo. Grabbed my wallet, hopped out to pump the gas, and as I opened it I had something like a daydream, a vision, of my debit card (and only credit card) waiting patiently in a zip-lock bag. On the shelf. Next to my bike.

Sigh. We'll try again tomorrow morning.

(At breakfast yesterday morning, Rich argued with me that I should always keep a little cash in my wallet. "Don't need it," I said, "I just use my card for everything." D'oh!)

Birthday, Postponed

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 10:32:01 GMT

Today was supposed to be my "birthday century". Couldn't do it Sunday, but today should have worked out perfectly.

Unfortunately, I'm behind on work (mostly due to this stuff). I know I *could* take the day off anyway, but I felt guilty about it last night. By the time I went to bed, I'd made the decision to put it off for next week. Probably Monday.

It's too bad, because the weather today is going to be perfect for a long ride. Now, I'm not sure that any weather is good enough to make 135 miles (century plus my age) an easy ride, other than a really strong tail wind that follows me through the whole course, but 74°, sunny, with almost no wind and 50% humidity is really the best I could ever hope for.

I'll ride today, but it'll be just a regular 50.

Outta Here

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 12:35:31 GMT

With three auctions up and running, and a total of 99 different applications (some utilities are duplicated in all three auctions, and I haven't done a firm count, but it's close to 99), I still have at least 25 apps which haven't appeared in any auctions. This is crazy. And fun.

Anyway, the weather is totally amazing this morning, so I'm not wasting any more time inside. Cleaning the bike, picking up some new cleats, and then hitting the road for a few hours.

PMC Day 0: The Huckleberries Ride Again

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 03:59:26 GMT

This was the third year in a row that I participated in the Huckleberries ride. This is a 95 mile ride from the border between New York and Massachusetts (on Route 102 in West Stockbridge) to Sturbridge, MA.

A few things about this ride never seem to change: the core group who has been doing it for eleven years, the heat, and the pain of climbing the longest hills.

One thing that does change is how we all handle the weather and the climbing from year to year. Two years ago I rode quite well (for me) in spite of heat and humidity like I've never experienced (on a long ride) before or since. Last year was hot but rainy and I suffered with stomach cramps for the second half. This year...

PMC Day -1: Travel!

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:38:52 GMT

We're leaving for the Pan-Mass Challenge as soon I post this message...

First, we're going to visit Mike at Osborne Correctional Facitlity (about 90 minutes north). He's "almost" on the way, so it's a great excuse to visit. We'll be out of there by 8, and should be at the hotel on the MA/NY line by 9:30.

Looks like it's going to be really hot this weekend. No surprise there.

Have to keep this short, or I'm going to be dragged out of there by my wife. (Speaking of my wife... tomorrow is a big day! And I'll be on my bike for most of it! :-( More later.)

Oh, one last bit of news: Shannon called me today from a halfway house! It's hard to believe she's already out of the prison. Unfortunately, she's a LONG way from here now. Further even than Mike is. Sigh.

We're outta here!

Ride #63: Thirty Two Miles on a Rocket

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:04:54 GMT

I know, I know, it's been way too long since I posted a ride update. I could try to explain just how busy and over-committed I am, and that in fact a lot of people are mad at me right now because some important things fell by the wayside, but what would be the point? It would sound like an excuse — and a bad one, since it's my fault — and the ride reports just aren't important enough in the first place.

However, I certainly have been riding and keeping my stats.

Yesterday, almost a full month early, I had my first "over 21" ride. Thirty-two miles at about 21.3 miles per hour.

What can I say? The weather was perfect (in the seventies, sunny, almost windless), I had the right lunch at the right time, and the weight has been coming off. Zoom.

I still have a ways to go (both miles and weight-loss), but I'm starting to think I'll be ok for this year's PMC. This winter I need to do something about not gaining so much weight. Just don't know what. If I don't enjoy it, I probably won't do it.

Stats: 32.12 miles (51.71 km) in 1h 30' 32" for an average speed of 21.28 mph (34.27 kph).

Stats to date: Rides: 63, Ttl Miles: 2,241.5, Ttl Time: 5 days, 0h 45' 10", Avg Miles: 35.57, Avg Minutes: 1h 55' 0", Avg Speed: 18.56 mph

Westerly Summer Solstice Festival

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:54:35 GMT

Last night, Corinne and I brought Lauren to the Westerly Summer Solstice Festival. She's three and a half months old and has no clue what all the stuff is, but we figured it would be fun anyway. :-) We were right, but mainly because we met Ellyn, Katie, Tom and Gramma there.

The highlights of the festival included the best smile picture of Lauren (so far) as seen here; a really tasty sausage and peppers grinder; the rock wall that Tom couldn't climb often enough; the beautifully restored, antique fire truck owned by the Westerly Fire Department, and the local karate school's street show.

I took lots of pictures, so go peruse.

Ride #36: I Probably Won't Go Blind for This

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 29 May 2007 20:43:44 GMT

Monday I went out for another longish ride, in spite of the eyes. I'd been off the bike all weekend, and sometimes the addiction overcomes any of that silly "logic stuff" I can throw at it. And honestly, it didn't hurt at all.

So I rode a little over fifty miles. It was basically the same route that we used on Thursday, minus the Watch Hill / Misquamicut / Bradford spur, and I added in the full climb up Pumpkin Hill.

The weight really is NOT coming off very well this year. I'm not quite ready to panic, but if I don't start shrinking soon I'm going to switch to the flickr diet. (That is, I'll have to be satisfied with pictures of food.) The flickr diet is cool, as you can consume unlimited quantities of everything on the menu, and the food is guaranteed to be 100% free of toxins and fats. What could be better?

Stats: 52.44 miles (84.42 km) in 2h 43' 54" for an average speed of 19.19 mph (30.90 kph).

Stats to date: Rides: 36, Ttl Miles: 1167.82, Ttl Time: 2 days, 16h 56' 15", Avg Miles: 32.43, Avg Minutes: 1h 48' 13", Avg Speed: 17.98 mph

Ride #34: 73 Miles with Steve and Mike

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 29 May 2007 03:25:18 GMT

As I mentioned, Steve and Mike came down for an 80 mile ride on Thursday. We actually rode only 73 because we started a little late and Steve had to head home for a school concert with one of his nineteen sons. (Nineteen, four, whatever.)

The route was basically a combination of my various training routes, but I really did try to avoid any significant hills this time. (Two years ago, Steve dubbed Cossaduck Hill Road, "I Hate You Dillingham Hill." Couldn't do that to him again!) We started at the house, went up 184 to 117 into Ledyard, Col Ledyard Highway most of the way back but then cut over to Pumpkin HIll Road (to avoid having to climb Pumpkin Hill itself), to Gallup Hill Road for a few hundred feet. Then I said, "Let's do something fun," and they followed me DOWN DOWN DOWN Town Farm Road's crazy-steep hill (and my bottle bounced out of my cage at 47 mph, so I couldn't coast out at the end, had to go back for it). Right on Wolf's Neck, left on 201, right on Al Harvey, right on 184, left onto North Stonington Road, across 27 onto River Road into Mystic. Left onto Route One and over the drawbridge.

Then we stopped at the Henny Penny in downtown to recharge our bottles, then stopped again just a mile later at the New & Improved Mystic Cycle Center. I said that they have a full scale model of the old store in the changing room. That was a joke, but it almost could be true... the new store (well, they've been there for over a year now, but it's new to Steve and MIke) is really big.

Continuing East on Route 1 North, then a right onto Green Haven Road all the way to the Pawcatuck River, where it makes a hard left and turns into River Road, and then into Mechanic Street just before it ends back at Route 1 in downtown Pawcatuck. Right on Route 1, through Westerly, then onto 1A into Watch Hill. We stopped for lunch at St. Claire's Annex, same as two years ago. Finally pulled out the camera and took the only shots of the day: one of Mike sitting at the table (looks like he wants to hurt me, but I don't think he even knew I had the camera out), and two outside after we ate.

After lunch we finished the loop around Watch Hill, saw the big hole in the ground where the Ocean House used to be, and continued to Misquamicut Beach.

I could tell that we were going to have a tail wind along Atlantic Avenue (Misquamicut)... yeah! I love flying down that road. It's as flat as they come around here, and with a tailwind you can really fly. I was at the back of the group, and started to pick up speed. As I passed Steve, he said something like, "Restrain yourself!" but I couldn't do it. I maintained 31 mph for about 1/4 mile (all the way around the big beach parking lot), then noodled along at 18 mph waiting for them to catch up with me. (They apparently hadn't picked up their speed at all.) Normally I would try to average 25 or better for the full length of Atlantic Ave.

Left at the end of Atlantic, up into Dunn's Corners, stopped to recharge our bottles again at the Mobil station. Crossed over Route 1 onto Bradford-Dunn's Corners Road to the other property Gary and Ellyn own (rental property). Stopped in to say hi (and use the bathroom). Ellyn and Katie were there, cleaning up after the previous renter before the next weekend rental. This is when I talked Ellyn into having a Memorial Day picnic on Sunday, by tempting her with Lauren. :-D

The rest of the ride could be summarized in one word: hot. (Not that I would ever leave it at just one word, right?) We continued on 91 to Collins Road, past my parents' old place, to Maxson Hill Road, to Frontier Road, to Route 3, to Wellstown Road, to Route 216, to Route 184.

When we reached the rotary for Routes 2 and 184, Steve was so hot he was in imminent danger of self-immolation, so we stopped at Mystic Pizza II so he could splash nasty, algae-infested water on his neck from their outdoor fountain. Yuck!

From Mystic Pizza II it was eight uneventful miles home.

Steve (and Mike) even met Lauren! She was sleeping when we arrived, so I took a quick shower and then woke her up. She even stayed happy the whole time.

Great ride guys, thanks for coming down!

Stats: 73.11 miles (117.7 km) in 3h 58' 45" for an average speed of 18.37 mph (29.58 kph).

Refugees from the Weather

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:26:04 GMT

Sunday that crazy storm started to blow, the Nor'easter that dumped record amounts of rain all over the northeast. Very early Monday morning — around 4:00 am — there was a very powerful blast of wind and our power went out. (I happened to be awake at the time.)

Later that morning, Connecticut Light and Power didn't know when our service would be restored (but they were "aware of the problem"). By noon they were reporting (through their phone service) that our power would be back by 12:00 am on the 18th (so, midnight on Wednesday morning). This was on Monday the 16th. So we were facing up to almost two days without power. Nuh-uh.

That's not going to work. We have a baby here now, and would really like to keep her warm and well fed without resorting to extreme measures. We talked about finding a hotel room for the night, but Ellyn suggested we talk to Eric & Bonny about staying in their summer rental property for the night, as it's currently empty. They said yes, so that's what we did. (Thank you guys!)

After returning from my weeekly breakfast with Rich (and, this week, Kerri, Teddy and even Lauren!) in North Kingstown, Corinne and I decided to pack up the vehicles and trek back to Mystic. The phone company was still saying that service would be restored by midnight tonight, and we really wanted to be home. (Plus, we'd only brought enough "baby stuff" for one night.) (Pictures are of Rich and Kerri holding Lauren.)

First thing we saw as we approached the house? The garage door ascending in response to the truck's built-in remote. YAY!!! According to the blinking clocks all over the house, the power had been back on since before Corinne called the first time this morning.

Incidentally, this storm was no joke. Though western CT received more rain than we did, it's rather hilly around here so the streams, creeks, brooks and rivers all rose significantly. One in Waterford (just a few miles away) rose a full nine feet. Also, the wind ripped our closed deck umbrella right off of its base and tossed it over the edge, wrapping it around the birdfeeder I had mounted to the side of the deck with a fancy wrought-iron hanger. (Our only losses were, thankfully, the umbrella and some wind chimes that I think were given to us as a wedding present.)

I've posted some pictures of the very flooded Mystic River Road.

Ride #122: To Plymouth with Mike and Steve

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 13:22:36 GMT

I took a day (Friday, October 27th) away from the code to ride with Steve Davis and Mike Lucas. This was to be our final almost-century of the year.

Earlier in the week, I had teased them about the amount of planning they were putting into this ride. "It's only 80 miles!" All three of us are experienced riders, and have done rides of this length dozens and dozens of times. Yet, if it were up to Mike, I think he actually would have planned the weather itself.

Well, all I can say now is, "Thank you, Mike." Thank you for all the planning, and thank you for not somehow separating yourself from us. Without all that planning, we surely would have been lost forever in the wilderness of South Eastern Massachusetts.

Mike even provided cue sheets! Two pages of cue sheets. I think we averaged one turn for every mile of the trip, both ways. That's why we would have been lost: he managed to find a back-roads route from Steve's house in Mansfield to downtown Plymouth that was as direct as taking the highway! Even better, most of the route had little or no traffic.

None of us had any mechanical difficulties, and there were no accidents. We joked about almost getting lost right at the start when Steve tried to lead us down the wrong road, but that only lasted about 30 seconds. The weather was bright sunshine, nearly windless, and chilly in the upper 40's when we started to the lower 50's at the warmest.

We kept the speeds low... I'm not really sure why, but at least I expected it this time so I wasn't worried about our pace (well, not much). There was a moment when another rider appeared about 1/4 mile ahead: Steve quietly said, "Seth, a rabbit!" The greyhounds in my legs took off at full speed... I caught the rabbit in nothing flat, but that was no great accomplishment as he was barely moving.

I don't remember ever being to Plymouth before, which is weird since I grew up in Massachusetts. We stopped at "the rock" where the Mayflower supposedly landed. It's just a big rock with a date carved in it. Not as big as it used to be, as 75% of it was chipped away for souvenirs over the centuries (a couple of museums, including the Smithsonian, have mailbox-sized chunks). Now they protect the rock with a gazebo-like structure that lets you see it but not touch it: to get a piece now, you'd have to jump down about eight feet to the sand, then climb out again.

Lunch was at a small restaurant whose name I can't remember. I'd forgotten my card, so I still owe Steve (thanks!). Excellent food, though: a bread bowl of New England clam chowder (of course), and some sort of chicken wrap.

After we ate, we stopped at the tourist info center to use the facilities and so Steve could warm up. ;-) The gentleman behind the counter tried to talk us into seeing all the sights, but we didn't have time so we settled for a quick ride up the hill to the National Monument to the Forefathers. It's BIG!!! It's also the prototype for the Statue of Liberty. All the characters around the base had creepy eyes. Did I mention that it was really big? 81 feet (24.5m) tall, and most of it is carved out of solid Granite. Good grief.

After the statue, I realized I had left one of my water bottles on the sidewalk where the bike had been parked during lunch, so we rode back down. While I zipped back to the restaurant, Steve and Mike checked out the recreation of the Mayflower. Awfully small for the number of people it carried: I think they would have fit better in the monument. ;-)

The only notable from the return trip was the two Brazilian guys who caught us. One spoke little to no English, but the other did and was a pro (?) racer living in the area. They weren't pushing hard, and we could have ridden with them for awhile longer, but at the point we were all together the traffic was pretty heavy and we got separated. Nobody was interested in pushing it, so we let them go.

Before I show them, let me warn you that the stats make us look like we were barely moving at all. It wasn't quite as bad as that... the ride time includes the putt-putt-putting around downtown Plymouth, and the very slow circles we made around the monument to see all the writing. Instinct tells me our actual speed was closer to the low 18's, not the mid-17's.

Stats: 81.78 miles (131.6 km) in 4h 40' 10" for an average speed of 17.51 mph (28.19 kph).

(No pictures this time, sorry. I don't have a camera small enough to carry on the bike, and Steve didn't think he'd use it. Must remind him to bring his camera next time, no matter what. :-)

Wet Truck

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 23:02:40 GMT

Rich asked, "How'd you make out with the weather today, any ill effects?"

He was referring to the torrential downpours, of course.

I replied,

"No problems at all.

When I went out for coffee I did manage to take the truck for a quick swim in a new pond in the middle of the street, but nothing came of it.

Hadn't taken the truck swimming in awhile. It's fun to watch it shake all the water off. From a distance. Of course it stinks like wet truck for awhile afterwards, but it's better than listening to that whining."

(The above is the same Rich who commented that he hadn't "seen any wacky" in me. Sigh.)

Ride #116: Consistency!

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:53:30 GMT

I won't claim to be at my optimal weight (not by a long shot), nor that I'm riding as fast or often as I think I could. I will claim, though, that I've finally reached a sort of consistency which has been lacking in both my weight and my cycling.

The best part is that I'm actually satisfied with what I've accomplished this year. I didn't meet my weight goal (230 pounds), but I've been at 240-242 for a couple of weeks and I'm quite comfortable! I don't feel "fat" like I used to, my clothes all fit (actually, many of them are much too loose, but that's better than being too tight like they were at the beginning of the season).

It doesn't hurt that John and Heather Woodward were up here last weekend, and both commented that I looked as thin as I did as a teenager. They're way off (by 60 pounds!), but still... :-)

There's been a lot of splurging this month. Once a week I have breakfast at a diner in RI with a "friendly client' (client and friend?), and we eat like horses. This weekend the ecclesia had food galore for a Fall study weekend, and I ate my fair share... but with all that, my weight was right where it was on Friday, at 242.

Today's was the seventh ride this year at 21 mph or better. The weather was gorgeous (high 50's, sunny, slight breeze out of the West), I slept like a baby last night, and had a little pasta for lunch. And I just felt fast.

Stats: 46.92 miles (75.54 km) in 2h 13' 37" for an average speed of 21.06 mph (33.92 kph).

Ride #109: Hilly Half Century

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 17:24:34 GMT

It's been a few weeks since I last did the hilly half cenutry, and there hasn't been a group ride since sometime in August. (Graham broke some ribs, and he organizes the ride, so it sort of fell apart.)

I've been fairly consistent with my riding and my eating all Summer (and early Fall). The weather has been very nice, and yesterday was over 70° though it was pretty windy.

Nothing much to report about this (Wednesday afternoon) ride except that I did it at all, and I was slower than I had hoped. Riding a lot is one thing, but the body learns to adjust: if you train on the hills, you improve on the hills. If you train in the flats, you improve on the flats. My guess is that's why I was slower than I had hoped: too much time on the flats. ("Though the wind certain didn't help," he says wishfully...)

Oh, I guess I should point out one other thing: I had some business decisions to make, and my mental butter-churn seems to work better when I'm riding. That's why I did such a long, hard ride on a Wednesday afternoon. (Wednesdays are already somewhat 'booked' for me, with mid-week class.)

Stats: 51.09 miles (82.25 km) in 2h 48' 48" for an average speed of 18.15 mph (29.23 kph).

Tuesday's Grab Bag of Highs and Lows

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:57:47 GMT

Tuesday was an intense day, with some very high highs and very low lows. I'm just going to brain-dump it all.

Low and High:

Perry died. This is very sad for all of us, but he lived a long, full life and had plenty of time to know even his great grandchildren. I had to call this both a high and a low... it's hard to attach anything "all bad" to Perry Lanphear.

High:

Breakfast at Snoopy's Diner with a friend and client. The business side of the meeting went well, as plans were made and progress reviewed. The friendly side of the meeting was even better. Best of all were the pancakes! Mama mia. Must take Corinne there so she can replicate those Apple-slice-filled beauties. (Oh wait, I gave up food. Nuts!)

High:

After my gigantic breakfast, I drove up to see Steve Davis in MA so we could go for a ride. He had a basketball game the night before, so was worried that he'd be too tired for my pace. I promised that I would ride super hard the day before and then eat a huge breakfast to weigh me down. I did both, but neither were necessary: he kept me talking the whole time! It's hard to push the pace when you're talking so much that you can't breathe heavily. Sneaky, Steve.

This was ride #103. Stats: 36.4 miles (58.60 km) in 1h 59' 37" for an average speed of 18.25 mph (29.39 kph).

Low:

Our average speed for that ride. (Sorry Steve, couldn't resist.)

High & Low, Again:

After I left Steve's place, I went straight to Gary's & Ellyn's house in Westerly. Ellyn had invited the whole family for a "send off dinner" for Gramma and Grampa. They were up here in New England for much longer this year than previous years, because of Mandi's wedding, but now they're heading home and last night was our last chance to see them this year. I was about 90 minutes early because the alternative was driving all the way home, finding something to do for 30 minutes, then driving back again.

I had a chance to watch Grampa cut down a whole Pineapple into rings. He'd never done it before, and definitely did not like the fact that there's so much waste. Rather than just slice a little more deeply as he "skinned" it, he made shallow cuts and then worked with a paring knife to dig out the bits of rind that were left. After slicing it down, he carefully cut the inedible core out of every piece. This was all both highly amusing and rather painful to witness, but he didn't cut *himself* so all's well that ends well. :-)

Almost everybody made it to the dinner. Corinne had to work until 6:30 so she was late, but wanted to be there so she could say goodbye. Dad was there until 6:45, but had to leave to teach a class. Gary worked late but made a quiet appearance while we were still eating (spaghetti and meatballs). Katie's in Colorado so couldn't be there at all. Mandi, just back from her honeymoon for a day, showed up just before G&G were about to give up and go back to their rental for the night. (She had to work late, also.) Sarah was there but left a little early because Art, who couldn't make it due to work, needed some dinner. Everybody else in the family (Mom, Jed, Ellyn, Gramma and Grampa, Tom, and Rusty) was there, too.

Quite a day.

Ride #94: A Beautiful Day for a Century

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:32:11 GMT

My original and very tentative plan for this year's Birthday Century was to make it a double. Two hundred miles. I felt strong enough to attempt it, and crazy enough to think I might be able to do it.

I was not, however, crazy enough to attempt my first double century by myself... and none of my friends could spare the time to do it with me. I couldn't even talk them into doing more than a quarter of it (with one exception, but that would also have required that I add more than three hours of driving to a very, very long day).

By the beginning of the month, I had given up on the double century and settled on a slight redefinition of the "birthday century." This year (from now on?) it's to be a century plus my age. That's 134 miles this year, for the numerically challenged. ;-)

My previous longest ride was 114.59 miles with Steve, last October 27th. A ride which will forever be famous as the "Unknown and Undocumented Century." (Sorry, Steve.) It's the only century I haven't written up in detail, and I really don't know why... I still remember most of it, and we had a great time. ::shrug::

Saturday morning I was up at 7:30 and eating Pizza Pasta Salad for breakfast. The weather was perfect (and remained so all day long). I waited a few hours to let the food digest, then hit the road at about 11:00 for a warm-up lap of twenty-something miles.

Until I was actually in Ledyard, I had been intending to ride through it, stay on 117 to 2A to Route 12 in Norwich, then turn around and ride back to the house. That would be about 23 miles. However, there's one ridiculous hill on that route (a 50+ mph descender that I'd have to go back up again), and I didn't want to burn so many muscle cells that early in the ride. Instead, I turned onto Col Ledyard Highway (what a misnomer!) and rode the outer shell of 2/3 of my normal training route. I was back to the house with 23 miles on the trip odometer.

I returned to the house so that I could eat a light lunch without having to buy it on the road, recharge my bottles (again, to save money... the alternative is buying more gatorade at a store), and do any necessary tuneups on the bike. The bike didn't need anything, but I should have paid closer attention to the time! I sat at the house for almost an hour, so I didn't head out again until just before 1:00. What A Dope!

Now carrying three bottles and what felt like a gallon of Gu in one jersey pocket (remember, I bonked last year...), I headed out for the rest of the trip. First stop: Mystic Cycle, to have a tiny adjustment on the rear derailer (it was up-shifting a little late, and my barrel adjuster is frozen). I was there for maybe three minutes.

From there I rode out to and along the Pawcatuck River, into Westerly. Out to Watch Hill, around the loop, out to Misquamicut to Weekapaug, to 1A, to good old Route 1 North.

On Route 1 I had a slight tailwind. All day I'd been careful about keeping my cadence high (about 100), and with the tailwind I was able to shift down one gear and still maintain that cadence.

Somewhere around mile 60, I felt "bump bump bump" and saw something stuck to my front tire. Uh-oh. I stopped to check, it was the spring from clothespin, and one end was fully embedded in the tire. When I pulled it out, all the tire's air came with it. (Well, it wasn't quite THAT fast, but it was flat fairly quickly.)

When I packed my jersey pockets before leaving the house the second time, I'd left my tire levers on the shelf. I made do with the little nozzle-tightening lever on the end of my frame pump, and a piece of smooth metal I found on the side of the road, but it took three times longer than it otherwise would have.

Another rider came along just as I finished. He bragged that he was doing 40 miles, so I congratulated him (sincerely!). That wasn't good enough for him, he needed to compare himself with me, and pestered me to tell him how far I'd been. "A little over sixty miles." He didn't feel too bad about that, and asked how much further I had to go. "About seventy," I said. "Ten more miles, then?" So I explained that, no, I had another seventy miles to go. He seemed quite frustrated by that, said he had to go "while he had the wind," and rode away. I caught him a few minutes later (after I finished pumping my tire), said hi, and let him draft me until his turn.

I continued all the way to Route 4 (in RI). That's a very busy road (like an interstate, but it's not), so I'm quite glad I only needed it for a half mile. From there, I took a few back roads to a friend's house to pick up my wallet. I'd left it there last week, in my absent-minded way.

Yes (Daniel!), you read that right. I actually did something useful on my bike ride. You're not the only one. Just don't tell anybody.

The friend gave me some fruit (a peach), which I gobbled down quite happily, and refilled my bottles with ice water. Thank you!

From his house I hopped on Route 2 South, which runs almost parallel to Route 1, finally joining it all the way down in Charlestown. (Now I had a headwind... that's always nice on a very long ride. ;-)

I'd never ridden on Route 2 (in RI) before. I have to say that's some of the nicest road I've ever seen.

Only stopped once on Route 2, at a convenience store to refill two of my bottles with Gatorade.

At 99 miles into the ride (still on Route 2), my average speed was exactly 20.0 miles per hour. It was coming down, though, because at 83 miles (at the friend's house) I was at 20.3.

To my utter disgust and amazement, it clicked down to 19.9 mph just seconds before I hit the hundred mile mark. I couldn't believe it. (I'd been watching the average speed on the computer. When I saw it drop to 19.9, I switched to the trip odometer... I was at 99.8x miles.) If not for the flat tire, or the stop at that gas station, or any of a dozen other little moments, I would finally have completed my first 20 mph century. How annoying.

I exited Route 1 onto Route 1A, then rode back through the (practically evacuated) Misquamicut Beach, just because I needed the miles. Unfortunately, it was starting to get late, and it was obvious that I wasn't going to make it all the way to 134 miles without finishing in the dark of night. I've promised Corinne I won't do that until I have a blinker light on the back of the bike (at least).

Back in CT, at the top of the hill on Route 1 near Seafood, Etc., I called Jed and asked him to pick me up. It was after 7 already, and the sun had set. I still had the residual twilight, but home was still fifteen miles away. I told him what route I'd take home, so he drove in that way so we wouldn't miss each other.

When I called him, my average speed was down to 19.5. From there to downtown Mystic, I somehow managed to raise the average to 19.6. I was full of energy again, even though my break only lasted long enough to make that phone call and I'd already ridden 115 miles.

He'd forgotten about the Taste of Mystic food festival — also known as Taste of Mystic's Worst Ever Traffic — so it took him a long time to pick his way through the town, and I caught him before he was through. The whole area was just wall-to-wall people!

So, I didn't manage the full 134 miles. I had the legs and lungs for it, but I just didn't have the time (which was obviously my own fault for leaving so late). Not that I'm really complaining... this was still my longest ride ever, and I've learned some lessons about preparation and departure times.

Stats: 123.89 miles (199.4 km) in 6h 19' 12" for an average speed of 19.60 mph (31.56 kph).

Ride #NaN: Ugh. Let's Not Count This One

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:40:29 GMT

What a joke.

I left late for this 'ride' planning to do just 20 miles. I've had multiple flat tires in the last week, so the plan was to ride to Mystic Cycle, get a new back tire, continue on for a few miles and then turn around and zip straight home.

They were a little busy, even though it was raining and almost closing time.

Rick replaced the tire for me, and noticed the water bubbling around my spokes. Graham said not to worry about it, it's just the air that was trapped between the tube and the wheel escaping, and you only see it because of the water.

Duh. I should have thought about this before leaving, because that just didn't make any sense. A tiny little bit of air, yes, maybe for a second or two. Not a constant 'sizzling' sound coming from the wheel. Really, duh.

It was too late to continue away from the house, so I headed home. Tire was flat within two miles.

I pumped it up.

Tire was flat again a mile later. I pumped it up.

Tire was flat again a mile later, now at the intersection of 27 and 184, two miles from the house. I pumped it up.

Er, I tried. The end of the valve (the little, metal part that screws down into the rest fo the valve so it can't be depressed accidentally) popped off, all the air came out, and that was that.

I walked. Some older gents were out test riding scooters, I borrowed a phone, and a few minutes later Corinne came to rescue me from a 2 mile slog home in the dark and rain.

Yee haw, I love cycling! ;-)

Ride #89: An Interesting Ride (and a Looooooong Story)

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:28:35 GMT

When the sun came streaming through my window, very early Wednesday afternoon, my heart started racing. I hadn't ridden since Thursday, due to conspiratorial deadlines, commitments, and weather. I haven't missed five days in a row since the six day gap in the second half of June. (I'm not kidding about my heart racing. This darn addiction...)

The plan was for twenty-plus miles, but I changed my mind almost as soon as I was ready to go: the weather was just too nice. Forty to fifty seemed more like what was needed. That meant my standard training route. But I told my self to take it easy because Thursday would be a hard ride (even if the group rides are done for the season).

Mystic Cycle is at mile 29 when I do the full 48-mile route. My "take it easy" plan was already shot to pieces: I was averaging 21.1 at that point... and that's AFTER picking my way through Mystic's traffic deadlock. (We need a residents-only tunnel. Seriously.)

As I pulled in, one of the mechanics (in fact, one of the two mechanics named Dan) was heading out for the day. He had seen me coming and wanted to ride with me. I ran in to tell Rick that I'd be back in the morning to talk about their site, then Dan and I took off.

I asked him what speed he was comfortable at. He said "about 20, but don't wait for me. Just ride your speed, and I'll keep up if I can." Well, ok then. We were headed towards Westerly, where he lives, so I kept my speed at about 20 on the flats. At the top of the first hill, we were talking about riding with racers like Graham, Rick, and Amos Brumble... I hit 40 going down the hill, and then somehow kept my pace between 21 and 29 mph for the next two miles. (There's a half-mile stretch of road with a very, very slight (maybe a half degree) downhill gradient. It's enough to make you feel fast and strong.) As anyone who knows me will attest, I get a little "lost" on the hills, I just love the descent so much. Apparently I "lost" Dan on that descent, and then gave him no chance to catch up. When I finally remembered to look around for him, he was nowhere in sight.

I took a right onto Green Haven Road to head towards the Pawcatuck River. A couple miles later, I was sitting on someone's front lawn, fixing my first flat since the Huckleberries Ride on the day before the PMC.

This didn't go very smoothly. Here's what I did:

took the wheel off
let the rest of the air out
slipped half the tire over the rim
removed the old tube
screwed the head down on my CO2 cartridge pump "thingy" to puncture the cartridge
noticed the head was crooked which is why I couldn't screw it all the way in
unscrewed it
re-screwed it
saw the same problem again
fought with it for TEN MINUTES to unscrew it (it wouldn't budge)
slammed the head on the road at just the right angle to pop the threads (still no luck)
set it down against the edge of the road and stepped on it gently, then harder, then stomped on it to finally release the jammed threads
screwed the head on again (this time it was afraid and there was no problem ;-)
put a little air in the new tube
put the new tube on the wheel
put the loose side of the tire back in
fought with those last eight inches of tire that never want to pop over the rim
filled the tire
heard a "ploof"-like sound that indicated the bead had popped off the rim again. GRR!

At this point, I was pretty annoyed. I obviously hadn't checked the fit carefully enough before reinflating. to fix it, I'd have to let the air out, reset the tire, and then inflate again. But I only had the one CO2 cartridge with me, and it was almost empty.

I sat there for a minute, wondering if there were any cyclists in the area who might have a pump, when a red, convertible BMW pulled up. The guy in the driver's seat asked if I needed any help, so I asked if he had a pump. Turns out it was HIS front yard on which I had camped out. He had a bike rack on the back of the Beamer, which was a good sign. :-)

His name was Shep, and he told me to bring the wheel over to the driveway... but then he remembered that he doesn't have a Presta adapter for his Schrader pump. Worse still, his own bike uses Presta. He just bought it a couple months ago, and keeps forgetting to pick up the adapter when he's in "the shop" (which is what I call Mystic Cycle most of the time, too). So, he offered (and I accepted) a ride back to the shop, where I would get some free air and he would finally remember to pick up his adapter. I promised I wouldn't let him leave without it.

On the way over, we talked about climbing hills. He was quite relieved to know that I "feel them" too (that is, I feel that they don't like me very much, I guess). "How fast do the pros climb them?" I said that I wasn't sure about the pros, but the two fastest riders in this area (Rick and Amos) can go up most of the hills in S.E. Conn at twenty mph, if they want to.

So he asked Rick about it. Rick said I'm crazy, and that I must be high from too much Gu. "I can't climb those hills very fast. Eight miles per hour is more like it."

What. A. Liar. I can climb them at 8-10. He's quite happy to noodle along next to me, until he suddenly decides to beat everyone else to the top and STILL doesn't break a sweat. But no, in spite of my protestations, he maintained that eight miles per hour was about right. But when Shep looked at me for a second, Rick winked.

(One last thing about Shep: in a weird coincidence, I was in the shop a couple weeks ago when they were installing his Garmin GPS bike computer. First one they've sold, so they were all talking about it. He mentioned that he'd just been to the shop that morning to have it replaced, and so I realized I knew _of_ him already.)

I left there and headed home, figuring I'd end up with about forty miles.

Back through Mystic, onto River Road. Left at the end, then a left onto 184. It's about three miles to my neighborhood. The first two miles are usually ridden at 16-18 mph (slight incline), and for the last mile I always try to keep the speed over 20. But not today. I kept it at 20 for the first two miles, and at 24.1 for most of the last mile. It was spooky and weird.

When I pulled into my driveway and leaned the bike against the truck so I could get my shoes off, I almost passed out. My heart racing and I couldn't catch my breath. After laying in the grass for a few minutes, I was back to normal. I'm not sure where all the speed came from in those last few miles, but I was obviously paying for it.

Stats: 42.61 miles (68.60 km) in 2h 4' 56" for an average speed of 20.46 mph (32.94 kph).

Ride #87: Inch by Inch (and, Three Accidents)

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:34:40 GMT

I had planned to do my full 48 mile training loop (which is more like a three-leaf clover than a loop), but I left a little too late. The sun's going down to early! Make it stop! We need to migrate somewhere way South for the Winter.

On my way back from Ledyard on Col Ledyard Highway, right near the high school, a cop blew past me with his siren blaring and lights flashing. A little further up, near the high school, at least half of the town's fire trucks, ambulances, and assorted other 'emergency service vehicles' turned onto the street and screamed off in the same direction I was heading. "That looks interesting," thought I.

A couple miles further up, I saw what all the fuss was about. A small car had hit... a telephone pole! Admittedly, it looked pretty banged up, and the person in the car was probably badly injured. There was no fire, there was only one car, and I think all those fire trucks and "ESV's" were there simply to direct traffic.

I turned left just past the accident, to shorten my route a little (rather than going all the way back to 184 and up Pumpkin Hill Road, this is a shortcut to the top of Pumpkin Hill). On my way back out of the Pumpkin Hill area on Gallup Hill Road, I saw a repeat of the previous accident: another small car had hit another telephone pole, and the other half of Ledyard's volunteers were there. Good luck to anybody in a third accident in that little town: take a number! ;-)

After a lot more turns and roads, I was on the nearly completed portion of the repaving of Route 184. This section of road is now most notable for one thing: it's utterly silent. You can't hear your own wheels on the pavement, and cars just sneak up on you. (Ever heard of paving a road with acoustic foam? Apparently it's all the rage.) Anyway, the paving isn't quite done yet, and at the end there's a "BUMP!" where you cross onto the old pavement.

Like I do every day, I "bunny hopped" it. It's a severe bump, and the bunny hop is one directional: I pop up off the old road, and land on the new road at the peak of the jump (maybe six inches). Except this time, my right cleat disengaged instead of helping to lift the bike off of the road. So I went up into the air, but the bike kept moving forward and hit the bump at 30 mph.

My life flashed before my eyes. I *knew* I was going to crash. I even knew how bad it was going to hurt.

I yelled "oh crap", and landed on my seat very, very, very hard. The front wheel turned hard, I leaned and twisted, ready for the crash... that never came. I just kept riding, but I felt like I'd been kicked by a mule in the inner thigh where I came down on the seat. Yes, I'm well aware that it could have been FAR worse.

Today I'm still feeling that darn mule's hoof print. I'm glad today is my day off. :-)

Oh, two last things: the "inch by inch" in the title is because my weight is still bouncing around but generally creeping down. I'm a few pounds ahead of last year at this time (finally!), and I'm actually one ride ahead of last year, too, though I'm still behind by 196 miles.

Finally, the weather has been perfect almost every day since the PMC started. Since that evil heat wave broke, we've only had a couple days of rain and no days of excessive heat. Mostly, it's been in the high seventies or low eighties with moderate or low humidity. :-)

Stats: 44.88 miles (72.25 km) in 2h 11' 45" for an average speed of 20.43 mph (32.90 kph).

Ride #78: We Now Return to the Regular Training Schedule...

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:21:45 GMT

Graham is suffering from some cracked ribs, so he wasn't up to riding the hilly half century last night. So... the old leader took over, Rick Ely. It's been a couple years since Rick led this ride, and I'd forgotten just how strong he really is.

See, Graham is a lot stronger than me on the hills. It's obvious by how much faster he climbs. He's a lot lighter than I am, too. Rick, on the other hand, has a completely different style: he goes up the hill slowly because he doesn't actually see it as a challenge, and then jets past everyone at the last minute to finish first.

I arrived at Mystic Cycle just as three riders were pulling out of the parking lot. Suka, someone whose name I don't know, and Rick in the rear. I turned around and caught on, and Rick directed everyone to take the same backwards, circuitous route that Graham has been taking. Rick and I moved to the front, and he brought our speed on the flats up to 24 mph. I felt fine, and this wasn't a problem.

He changed the route slightly, taking us down Jeremy Hill Road instead of Al Harvey Road, but the end result was the same. However, he said we were heading for Wyassup instead of Cossaduck or the North Stonington Transfer Station road. That meant we were going to do the route backwards... which meant going DOWN Cossaduck. "If it's raining by then, it's going to be very hard to stop at the bottom of Cossaduck," I said. (At least for me. And "hard" means "almost impossible.")

He didn't say anything, but he must have agreed because he changed the route so that we went straight to Cossaduck. I joked around (sorta) about this hill always psyching me out, so he tried to pump up my confidence by saying that I was riding better than he's ever seen, I'm in great shape, etc., etc., etc. And he stayed with me about 1/2 way up the hill, with the other two still behind us, as if I was actually keeping a decent pace.

I did slow down, though, and the other two went around us. The other guy started giving Suka lessons on climbing long hills like Cossaduck. "Slip into your easiest gear, pedal easy for a little while. Then down-shift two or three gears, stand up, and attack like your [butt] is on fire, until you're going as fast as you can go in that gear. Then shift back to the easiest gear and keep your cadence up as long as you can. Get your breath back, and repeat."

He demonstrated. Suka followed. I tried it, and I had to admit it felt pretty good. Rick rode around all of us and casually beat everyone to the top without getting out of his saddle even once. He may even have pulled out a novel to read on the way up, but I had too much sweat in my eyes to be sure.

For the record: I asked Rick (who is in his early 40's), "What do you weigh, about 155?" He said, "No! I'm only 135, and I'm 5' 6". I'm just a little guy." Sheesh.

At the top, they decided to do 'hill repeats.' On Cossaduck. "Come on, Seth! You have another one in you?" So down we all went again, and I took 1,000 miles off my brakes by stopping at the bottom, so I could turn around and do it all again. Same as last time. Again, I didn't finish too far behind the other two. (Rick was just fooling around, and the other guy was intentionally sticking with Suka, so this doesn't say much for me.)

They turned around to do it AGAIN, but I'd had quite enough of that, thank you, and I just kept going to finish the ride I'd "signed up for."

Later, on Wyassup, I saw two riders coming towards me who looked like Suka and the other guy (gotta get his name, he's there every week). Turns out it wasn't either of them... it was someone named Ken (who I didn't know), and a girl who did this ride with us once last month and somehow remembered my name.

They were "slightly lost," and wanted to ride with me mainly because I knew where I was going. I led them through Wyassup, back to 201, to Wolfneck and out to that super-steep hill on Town Farm Road, then back to Mystic. Ken shook my hand and thanked me for the escort, then they headed home to Westerly and I climbed Oral School before heading home myself.

Stats: 53.16 miles (85.58 km) in 2h 51' 53" for an average speed of 18.55 mph (29.87 kph).

(Oh, my weight is coming down again. I'm just four pounds heavier than my lightest weight last year. Another 17 pounds for my goal this year.)