(This ride was on Sunday. I've also ridden Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but this was the only one worth writing about. Stats for those days are on May's page.)

After a couple days of rain, I decided it was time to do the full, hilly, half-century ride that I've been describing here for years.

One thing you need to understand about this area: South-Eastern Connecticut is flat. Not Kansas-flat, but still very flat. This area is know for its sea-side scenery, not its mountains. There are no mountains for which it could be known.

People in Western Mass, or Vermont, or Georgia (think "Bald Buster"), or the Rockies, or just about anywhere else... they look at what I call a hill route and chuckle. "Poor boy would not like it out here," they think to themselves. You may even be one of those peope. :p

Steve Davis prompted me to map the route at USATF. So, I very carefully traced out the whole 54 mile route, starting and ending at my front door. See the ride profile here.

4,140 feet of climbing in 54 miles is pretty good for this area, but you can tell from the map that the route is truly wacky (calling it a "loop" requires a bit of squinting). That's because it just keeps heading for the next hill.

Unfortunately, the "birthday loop" (named by the guys at Mystic Cycle) omits one of the steepest hills around, though it passes very close to it. I'm going to try modifying the route next week when I ride it again, adding in that extra hill. Should add another 250 feet of elevation-gain. The week after that, Steve's coming down to ride with me for an afternoon, and this is the route we'll be following. (Ooh, maybe I'll throw in Pumpkin Hill, too... Hmm...)

Stats: 54.83 miles (88.27 km) in 3h 9' 39" for an average speed of 17.34 mph (27.92 kph).

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:

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).

I mentioned that I'm really pushing myself back into shape this year. Last year's PMC was so bad that I couldn't even write about it. Admittedly, I got sick, but I really just wasn't riding like myself last year. This year I want to make up for it, so I'm doing lots of hill rides. Whereas last year's daily route was flat and pretty, this year's has more hills. Eventually I plan to make the "birthday loop" my daily ride, though I'm not quite there yet.

Thursday was my first attempt at about 80% of that crazy hill ride. I left out Wintechaug on the front and Town Farm Road on the back, shortening the route from 50+ to about 40 miles. However, this ride was my fourth day on the bike in a row, and the season is still very young so I knew it wasn't going to be a fast ride.

My performance was better than I expected. Cossaduck HIll is a beast, but I was able to climb "out of the saddle" for 2/3 of the hill, which is much better than my first attempt in previous years. I didn't even care how long this route took me, I just wanted to get through it and put some hills into my legs.

There were two very pleasant surprises in store for me. The first was that Gilliver Road has been resurfaced! Last year it was so bad that I tended to skip it, which meant leaving out one and a half good climbs in favor of about four extra miles. Now it's quite smooth and rideable (and the crazy dog at the top of the hill never made a peep, which made that road even better... he's a bike chaser).

The second surprise? Well, just look at the picture.

I have no explanation for this. The computer only counts speeds that are maintained for at least two (or maybe it's three) seconds. Yet, I'm pretty sure I never hit 79 mph. My highest speed to date was (I think) 54 mph. I may have hit that again on one of the descents, or maybe even a little higher, but 79 mph!? That just doesn't seem likely or even possible.

Must admit that I seriously considered just sending this picture to a couple cycling-friends (Steve, Daniel, I'm looking at you...) with no comments. :-D

Stats: 39.78 miles (64.04 km) in 2h 20' 43" for an average speed of 16.96 mph (27.30 kph).

(Reminder not to make too much of that low average speed. This ride had loads of climbing and the season is still very young.)

My grandparents needed some help with "things," so Ellyn (technically, my aunt... Dad's sister) asked Corinne to go down with her for a week. Originally they were going to drive, but (thankfully) I talked them out of that idea. They flew out Tuesday afternoon, and come back on Tuesday the 22nd.

With Corinne out of the house for a week, I can't sleep at home. (Shannon's 21, her husband won't be home for another nine months, and I don't want anybody getting the wrong idea.) Since I can't stay at home, I suggested they take Lauren with them also. Shannon and I both need to work, but one of us would have to take the week off to watch Lauren full time if she had stayed at home.

Thus, my first tweet of the day, yesterday, "Woke up alone in a strange house in a small bed, far from home." (The bed was in Ellyn's & Gary's guest room.)

For most of the week they're gone I'll be working from home, but mornings from Thursday to Saturday are at Rich's house. He and his family are out of town, so I'm making friends with his gigantic, 30-inch Cinema Display and officially Getting Stuff Done™. In the afternoons I'm heading home again, going for a ride (weather is PERFECT this week), then working at home until late evening when I head back into Westerly for the night.

Yeah, I'm missing my girls. :-(

Corinne and Ellyn both report that Lauren was a nightmare on the plane down there. She screamed more often than she was quiet, and just wouldn't settle down. She slept great Tuesday night, but terribly Wednesday night and awoke everyone except Gramma. When Corinne and I last spoke, Lauren was screaming in the background.

I think my girls miss me, too. ;-)

Shannon's son Richie was supposed to be up here now for a three day visit, but that was canceled at the last minute. So Shannon is bored, but has Saturday off and is going bowling with her friend Jen.

Quick status update on Shannon: she is now working a second job at a Hallmark store, and can't seem to decide between starting a cleaning business (simply because her Mom says she could make good money doing it) and going to school for massage therapy (which is what she really wants to do). I'm strongly in favor of the massage therapy (because, as I said, it's what she really wants to do), but she also wants to get her son back. If she's working one or two jobs and going to school for massage therapy, there won't be much time left for her kids. I'm hoping she'll just keep on keeping on until Mike comes home in January.

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!)