Thursday, October 15, 2009
Bicycle Repairman
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ride with Chris Carmichael on Sep 17
New England Stop at Belmont Wheelworks
Love staying in shape? No time for exercise? Enjoy cycling? Two words for you: Chris Carmichael, who’ll be in town to sign his new book, The Time Crunched Cyclist, and to answer your questions in person about how to fit some reasonable riding into your unreasonable schedule. Carmichael, who coached Lance to seven consecutive Tour de France victories and this year's comeback third place, makes his only New England stop at the Belmont WHEELWORKS on September 17th with a group ride and a Q & A. Says Carmichael, "We’re not 20 anymore. Many of us have families and jobs and can’t commit to 10 or more hours per week on our bikes. For most of us, “your training program is the only thing stopping you from enjoying cycling the way you used to. Why? Because predominant theories in training are still stuck in the 1980s.”
The event will begin with a 2-hour group ride for up to 40 local cyclists led by Carmichael. All riders should be intermediate level or more advanced and be able to maintain a 17 to 19 mph pace. After the ride, the public is invited to a clinic and book signing reception sponsored by GU Energy Labs at the Belmont WHEELWORKS. You have to register for the ride by emailing events@wheelworks.com and all are welcome to the book signing reception later in the evening.
When:
Thursday, September 17th
3:30pm Ride Meeting Time at Belmont Wheelworks
4:00pm Ride Departure
6:30pm-8pm Clinic & refreshments at Belmont Wheelworks following the ride
Where:
Belmont WHEELWORKS480 Trapelo Road
Belmont, MA
(617) 489-3577
COST: The ride and in-store appearance are free and open to the public.
The Time-Crunched Cyclist...sounds like he wrote the book for me!!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Grounded!
Two Sundays ago I did a 51 mile ride followed by a 20 miler the next day, and then I was off to NJ to work at a project site for a few days. Well by the end of my first day away I was experiencing some discomfort which I immediately attributed to being dehydrated...wrong! Despite efforts to rehydrate, the symptoms grew worse, and last Friday I was diagnosed with prostatitis, otherwise known as a male urinary tract infection! As a result, the doctor suggested that I curtail riding until the symptoms had subsided, which they did a few days ago. But I've been playing it safe and have been grounded for a total of 10 days! I plan on riding today...wish me luck!
It's not entirely clear to the doctor or me what caused this...it could have been the 50 mile ride or the cumulative affects of the riding season...or not related to the riding at all. One thing is for sure, the saddle I've been riding is comfortable and has not caused any numbness in the nether regions nor malfunctioning parts! So go figure! Obviously I'll have to monitor the situation closely.
Monday, July 6, 2009
July 4th Ride
I figured on 3 hours of riding and ended up at 3 hrs- 3 min despite a wrong turn in Berkley that added about 3 miles to the ride. The ride was actually quite easy given that I essentially had at least a partial tail wind from the west to northwest over most of the distance.
Ride stats: 53.7 miles at 17.6 mph.
The cookout and fireworks afterward seemed more enjoyable this year!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Unexpected Tempo Ride
Then the rain came and came and came and....well you all know about the lousy weather that never seems to end.
So tonight's ride was unexpected for two reasons:
- First, it pretty much rained here all day and hard...and it was raining when I left Boston...and my wife reported very wet roads and huge puddles. So I figured another ride missed due to the crappy weather system that has parked itself in various locations in the Northeast for just about the entire month of June. But after I got home and had a good meal, the roads were clearly drying and I just needed to get out on the bike for a short ride. Damp conditions were not going to stop me.
- Secondly, I hate wet rides of any type so I simply resigned myself to a "going through the motions" type of ride. But after the first 5 miles of spinning I unexpectedly picked up the tempo without really trying. That's when I realized how strong my legs were feeling so I picked it up some more to a level I thought I MIGHT be able to sustain for the rest of the ride (by now an 18 mile ride had been decided!).
Next up: a one-way approx. 50 mile ride to the family cottage in Fairhaven on the 4th...well, that is after Friday's ride.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Longest Day Ride
Here's another ride I had my sights set on but won't be able to participate in due to family commitments (the kid's have their karate class graduation this day). It's the Longest Day Ride being held this Thursday night (6/25) and sponsored by Ten Speed Spokes in Newport, RI. The ride covers 46 miles on Aquidneck Island (Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth) and starts promptly at 6:00 pm. A moderately long organized ride at night...and during the weekday too! I've never ridden it nor do I know anyone who has, but it just seems like it would be a unique and fun ride to participate in...to celebrate the time of year that offers us the most sunlight!
So not this year... perhaps next. But I would like to hear from anyone who's participated in the ride. Is it a cycling event worthy of clearing the calendar? And just so my few readers don't think I just talk about organized cycling events, I am registered for and will participate in the NBW's TFCE this September. This will be about my 10th time riding in this fun event.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
My First Time Trial
I think time trials (TT) are great. In addition to being my favorite type of cycling competition, I think they are great to participate in as a way to measure your fitness and help attain riding goals like speed. Turns out, there are several TT races held in the local area by clubs and bike shops...and they're open to anyone. I'd been thinking of trying one but my schedule makes it difficult. But there is one that fits my schedule perfectly and also happens to be reasonably close by as well, so earlier in the week I committed to participate in the once per month Saturday morning 12-mile TT held by the Sharon Road Club.
Okay, so now about the disaster. I'll start by giving some advice. Know the TT course before you ride it for the first time. I know the roads in the area reasonably well and had both a map I had downloaded and studied plus written directions handed to me at the race. Despite all that, I missed a turn that resulted in an estimated extra 1.6 miles being added to the 12 mile TT loop. But that's just the BIG mistake I made. Here is a complete list of all the things, that IMO, went wrong...rookie mistakes if you will :
- Not knowing the course well enough and missing a turn
- Riding 28 miles the night before
- Starting out way too fast for the 12 mile distance and at too high a cadence
- Forgetting to reset my cyclometer
- Not being able to ride on the drops for long enough distances
- Forgetting to wear my skin suit and teardrop shape aero helmet (ok...just kidding on those two!)
The Sharon Road Club TT is held once a month during the riding season at 8:30 on a Saturday morning. More information can be found at the link.
There are a few other regularly held TT events in the area of varying distances. Here are the ones a know about with links for more information.
- Dover TT - Dover, MA - Wed nights - 7.7 miles
- Bikeworks TT - Rehoboth, MA - Thur nights - 8 miles
- Tri-Town Cycling TT - Rochester, MA - Tues nights - 14 miles (the Small Town Cyclist wrote about it here)
I'd like to try the Bikeworks TT next if I can manage to free-up a Thursday night.
Anyone know of any other TTs in the area?
Edited to add another local TT:
- Pat Bell TT - Southboro, MA - Tues nights at 6:30 - 11.7 miles
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Just Beat The Rain!
Of course, by the time I get home the threat of rain is imminent. Not liking to have my hopes dashed yet again, I decide to stay local so I can cut the ride short if need be. There's a 5 mile loop from my house...I call it the basic loop...which I can ride one or more times with add-on loops to get anywhere from 10 to 20 total miles. Figured I'd do 14 miles. That was one cold ride for June...even with a LS jersey and vest on. At mile 12 I decided to stay out longer and predictably at mile 13 rode into a few sprinkles. But basically the rain held off until 10 minutes after I got home at which time a good steady rain developed. Wendy told me that the whole time I was riding the main area of rain was getting closer but that the light green leading edge on the radar didn't move beyond the MA/RI line just to our west. Now that's called just beating the rain!
Ended up cranking out a total of 18.3 cold miles at an average pace of 17.5 mph. Funny how the threat of cold rain makes you go faster.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Summary for W/E 14Jun09 - Near Perfect Riding Week
What a Difference a Week Makes!!
This past week ended up being a nearly perfect riding week, despite a weather forecast that suggested few opportunities for riding. It would have been a perfect week had it not been for the untimely rain on Sunday morning. I had planned to do my long ride for the week 1st thing Sunday morning, 30-35 miles or more depending on how I was feeling after 2 days of riding. As a result of the rain, I had to settle for a much shorter ride later in the day. I was able to get in after work rides on Monday, Wednesday and Friday...an early morning ride on Saturday (on the road shortly after 7:30 AM, which is as good as it gets for me!)...and an off-plan late afternoon ride on Sunday. A total of 101 miles for the week at an average speed of 16.8 mph. If I can string a few weeks like this one together I'll be mighty pleased.
The jump in my average speed is noteworthy. I'm pretty sure it's real but I must admit I'm still fleshing this out a bit to make sure. Let me explain further.
Different Bike/Different Cyclometer
All my rides this week were on the Trek 2100. These were my first "real" rides on this bike other than tooling around the neighborhood shortly after I bought it. I bought the bike off of eBay last October from a seller in Hopkinton as I felt the need to have a "back-up" bike once I decided to raise my training up a few notches for 2009. To me the bike was a steal for what I needed. But when I started the longer rides earlier in the Spring I naturally took out the Specialized Roubaix, the only road bike I rode for the last two years. However, two Sundays ago I sent myself into a mild panic when I was preparing to ride and noticed that the outer layer of rubber was peeling off the rear wheel tire on the Roubaix. I had known it was getting near that point but I'm not too good with standard pre-ride checkouts of my bike...usually just hop on and go. I certainly got good use from that tire...it was the original that came with the bike and had just under 3,000 miles on it! Anyway,it was time to get the 2100 out of the basement and get it set-up for riding, which is what I did. It came with a Cateye cyclometer and after verifying the correct settings and riding on loops of known mileage, it seems to match very closely the data from the Trek Incite 8i on the Roubaix. I have no reason to believe it's not properly calibrated, but I probably ought to get new batteries for its two main units in case its flaking out on batteries about to go kaput.
2100 vs. Roubaix
I like the Roubaix and test rode several other comparable bikes before I decided to buy it in early 2007. After years of riding an old Trek 1200, the Roubaix had the plushest ride I had ever experienced. The 2100 has a noticeably harsher ride but much better responsiveness to my pedaling. Yes, in just a few rides this past week I've noticed vastly improved accelerations and more power going up hills. At first I thought it was just in my head but I really do believe it's the bike. I know I certainly feel faster on the 2100!
The Dreaded Big Chainring
There's no reason the big chainring should be dreaded except in situations like mine. I've had a chronic problem with my right knee that in the past has kept me off the bike and getting PT. What I've learned over the years is that I need a good base of miles riding exclusively on the small chainring and building up the muscles around the knees each year before I can start to even entertain the thought of using the big gears. If I don't train this way, I end up on the sidelines with a painful knee. So my training has always been based on a high cadence riding style with a focus of building leg speed early in the season. I use 500 miles as a basic rule of thumb for building the base but it also depends on how my knee feels. Having passed the 500 mile mark a week ago and with my knee feeling pretty good, I started using the large chainring sparingly on 2 rides this week...and both those rides resulted in average speeds easily exceeding 17 mph.
So to me, this all adds up to my first "breakthrough" event for 2009. I wish it was all in my legs but I'll take improvement anyway it comes...both stronger legs and a faster bike work fine for me. But I also know my history and I typically don't have such large increases in weekly average speeds so I'll need to keep an eye on the Cateye cyclometer. I'm pretty sure this all adds up to real improvement, but...
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Walking at Lunch - Boston HarborWalk
View of downtown Boston skyline from Fan Pier.
Sailboats docked at Fan Pier. The red boat in foreground is the type participating in the Volvo Ocean Race.
At the end of the walkway. A view of the famous Anthony's Pier 4 restaurant.
I'm a little concerned about my inability to stick with the general cycling training schedule I thought I'd be able to follow this summer...which means I'm concerned about attaining my weight goal. I'm going to add walking at lunch to my schedule to help burn calories. Stay tuned for more pictures!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Weekly Stats Update
What's worse than not posting in over 3 weeks? Not riding for two of those weeks! Working out of state is a training schedule killer...at least for me I'm afraid to admit. I couldn't even fit a ride in on two consecutive weekends. Last week was a little better.
Weekly stats, as meager they be, are updated in the right side-bar.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Weekly Stats
Last week was a disappointment for riding. The week had a lot of promise with the children away for the week, but other things got in the way. I had wanted to de-thatch the lawn for a few years now so last Friday was the day. Of course, I got a late start for numerous reasons, including being on call for a crisis brewing at work and a one hour wait at the RMV to get my license renewed. I had wanted to start in the morning but didn't get going until 2:00 pm. After that the domino effect controlled the rest of the weekend, which meant no ride on Friday and short rides on Sat and Sun. I understand those kinds of weeks are going to happen but it still aggravates me to no end.
Week Ending 4/26/09
- Sat 4/25 - 18.9 mi - 16.4 mph
- Sun 4/26 - 22.6 mi - 16.0 mph
This week will be another thin week for riding. I'm heading off later today to a project site in New Jersey where I'll be working for the next few days. Hope I'm back in time and the weather holds for rides on Fri through Sun.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Mid-Week Update - W/E 4/26/09
April = August
As I'm sure everyone knows by now, we're going to have June-like weather this weekend. That means shorts and short-sleeve jerseys for certain...some of us for the first time at least for the jersey (at least that's the case for me). But remember, even though the calendar says April...the sun strength at this time of year is equivalent to that of August. Don't forget your sunblock folks!...especially if you're going out on a long ride. Karen gave that warning last weekend...and it sort of came the hard way. Seems worth repeating just prior to this first truly made for cycling weekend of 2009.
Enjoy your rides all!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Weekly Summaries
Week Ending 4/12 (I track my weeks from Mon through Sun)
- Wed 4/8 - 20.1 mi - 16.3 mph
- Thur 4/9 - 17.2 mi - 15.6 mph
- Fri 4/10 - 22.6 mi - 16.1 mph
Total for week of 59.9 miles at a weekly average speed of 16.04 mph.
Week Ending 4/19
- Mon 4/13 - 18.6 mi - 16.3 mph
- Wed 4/15 - 16.1 mi - 16.3 mph
- Fri 4/17 - 25.4 mi - 16.4 mph
- Sat 4/18 - 19.2 mi - 16.6 mph
- Sun 4/19 - 17.2 mi - 15.9 mph
I'll be adding weekly stats - total miles, average speed, and my weight - to the right side-bar shortly. Yes, I'll be including my weight so the public can see if I'm full of crap about my goal of getting down to 180 pounds.
These have all been good early season rides...though most were coolish and all were windy (at least they all seemed windy to me....some brutally so). As much as I hate riding in windy conditions, I know the extra effort will start paying off soon. One thing about my rides so far is that I find the average speeds to be remarkably consistent. This is unusual for me. In past years, my average speeds over the first few weeks of riding at similar distances were typically erratic and wide ranging from low 14s to mid 16s mph. The only thing I can attribute this to is my handful of fixie rides over the winter and my attempt at keeping the off-season as short as possible (as lame as that effort was).
I'm still getting use to it, but the new ride schedule with Tuesdays and Thursdays generally reserved as off days (due to family schedules, not by choice) is working out fine. Although I still don't like the idea of riding on Mondays, a day I use to count on as a rest day after long and/or hard rides on the weekends.
Speaking of weekend rides, this Sunday offers a special fund raiser ride event down in the MA South Coast area (Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Marion, Wareham). The event is to raise money for and awareness of the proposed Mattapoisett bike path, a portion of which has already been completed. Ride distances of 15 to 40 miles are being offered and the registration fee is small ($20). John has more details about this event on his blog. These are my old stomping grounds and the roads are excellent for riding...at least they used to be...and loaded with great scenery. I'd like to participate in the 40 miler, but the time commitment for me to get there and back and ride would be approx. 5 hours and I'm afraid the yardwork at home is already starting to pile up. There are many organized rides that I'd like to do later in the year when the yardwork dwindles off...so I'm thinking I should stick to plan and ride a 30 miler or so around here. We'll see.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Music To My Ears and Riding Update
Yes, the music to my ears....an enduring seasonal chorus I look forward to hearing each year as much for the sweet sound as for the emergence of the Spring renewal it represents. This year, I first heard them the night of my daughter's birthday (date of my last post) as the in-laws were leaving. On my next ride 2 days later, I passed a spot in Plainville where the music was deafening...a roadside vernal pool perhaps. I'm talking of course about the spring peepers...also known as pinkletinks on the Vineyard (a fact I just learned). After our long and lingering winter, it's been good to hear them on my rides including my ride tonight...a nice reminder of the fact that warmer weather WILL arrive eventually.
Click on picture to hear the "music".
As for my rides, here's a summary of my mileage and average speeds since my last post:
- Fri 3/27 - 18.3 mi - 15.7 mph
- Thur 4/2 - 14.4 mi - 16.0 mph
- Sat 4/4 - 17.1 mi - 16.0 mph (strong wind)
- Sun 4/5 - 22.6 mi - 16.0 mph (strong wind)
- Wed 4/8 - 20.1 mi - 16.3 mph
Today's ride was a good example of keeping the momentum going. It would have been so easy to bag today's scheduled ride given the cold and wind and snow flurries my wife saw at work. I was really in no mood to ride all day, but I left work like I was going to ride and when I got home the wind had mostly died down. I started feeling better about riding and lo and behold I ended up doing a 20 mile ride and felt great doing it.
I didn't think I would be wearing my PI InsulaTour winter riding jacket again until next Fall, but the 44 deg temperature at ride time demanded it as well as the winter tights. Good call...I was never cold nor overly warm during the entire ride. The InsulaTour jacket has worked out well with temperatures in the 30s to mid-40s. When I wore it once or twice with temperatures in the 20s I found that I couldn't stay warm enough for an entire 12-16 mile ride. The cold too easily penetrated the back of the jacket, especially the back of the sleeves, which by design have no wind break material for breathability/water management.
I was looking at the NBW ride schedule a few weeks ago and noticed that the Triboro ride in my area was scheduled for this coming Sunday. I figured I'd join them for the 35 mile loop and get to know some of the club members. Now of course I realize that Sunday is Easter and I'll be lucky if I get any type of short ride in with all the egg hunts the family is preparing for the kids. Oh well...it's always something!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
First After Work Training Ride
Glad to get that one done and over with...the first of the season. I kept going back and forth on deciding whether to stick with the fixie or take a road bike out. I went with the fixie and decided to simply ride the flat 4.8 mile loop near my home...that way I could easily bailout after the 2nd lap or shoot for one or two more depending on how I felt. Three laps was just right and gave me a decent workout with all the non-stop pedaling. I was happy with the 16 mph average speed.
As far as how the riding conditions were, all I can say is 50 degrees F never felt so warm and comfy!
Ride Stats (25Mar09)
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 14.4 miles
Time: 54 minutes
Average Speed: 16.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: Friday, 27Mar09
Temperature at start: 51 F (5:18 pm)
Temperature at end: 49 F (6:12 pm)
Gear: silk weight base layer/SportHill Summit LS jersey/PI Zephrr vest on top...and LG tights on the bottom...perfect for the temperature!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Falling Behind the "Firsts"
Here is a list of cycling "firsts" I've been reading about in the blogosphere lately:
- First road bike ride (http://cycling4fun.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-metric.html)
- First Spring Ride (http://ilovemybrookssaddle.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-spring-ride.html)
- First Spring Training Ride (http://www.tindonkey.com/2009/03/first-spring-training-ride.html)
- First race http://suitcaseofcourage.typepad.com/the_suitcase_of_courage/2009/03/weekend-racing.html)
- First team ride (http://mainevelophile.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/first-official-team-ride/)
- First 2009 NBW ride (http://martysbikerides.blogspot.com/2009/03/nbw-028-east-providence-spring-season.html)
- First Week back in the Saddle (http://trialsintri.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-week-back-in-saddle.html)
I'm very pleased to see that my fellow cycling bloggers are faithfully completing their 2009 cycling "firsts" and moving forward toward meeting their cycling goals. I'm certainly not in competition with anyone for any type of cycling stat or bragging rights (except perhaps myself), but my inability to get on track while others are off and running is starting to weigh on me.
The month of March has been particularly frustrating so far with snow-clogged roads to start the month, followed by a bout with the flu, a need to prioritize the completion of home remodeling projects, lingering effects from being sick, and finally this past weekend, a home full of guests for the weekend (my SIL and her 3 children stayed with us this weekend and on Sat we had a birthday party for my daughter). Then a review of my cycling goals for 2009 reveals that I've already missed one entirely - to start routine "training" rides BEFORE daylight savings time begins on March 8. And now I'm starting to question my ability to commit to early morning rides on the weekends as I wimp out upon sight of the thermometer!
I need to get on track soon...the pressure is of my own making but it's building quickly and I don't like the feeling!
Tomorrow looks like a fine day for my FIRST after work ride of the season. We'll see what happens.
Where in the World is Matt Lauer?
That just got me thinking of all the close calls I've had with deer in my area when I've been driving in the car. Just this weekend a friend was telling me about two deer that had darted out in front of her on Route 152 earlier in the week. It completely startled her because they had never seen deer in this particular area before.
Until now, I haven't really heard of any close encounters between deer and cyclists...at least in the local area. But it certainly makes sense given the close calls with cars that cycling accidents with deer are VERY POSSIBLE. I'll sure be thinking about deer on my next few bike rides...especially if they're early morning rides.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Longing for March 1998
But thinking about the weekend weather jogged my memory of a March about 10 years ago. I remember that at the end of that March we had a heat wave with temperatures touching 90 degrees. As usual, my curiosity got the better of me and proved my memory for trivial weather-weenie facts to be fairly accurate. 1998 was the year.
From the Penn State Weather World website (http://www.ems.psu.edu/WeatherWorld/) I found this.
March 1998 Weather Across the Nation:A quick check of climatological records revealed that temperatures peaked on the 31st at:
"...The month concluded with a spectacular heat wave in the Northeast. Portland, Maine reached 88 degrees, their highest reading ever for March and April. Boston and New York City reached their highest March temperatures. Charlottesville, Virginia hit 90 degrees on three consecutive days. A rare outbreak of tornadoes in southern Minnesota devastated the town of St. Peter. One renegade twister even hit northern Michigan where nearly a half foot of snow was still on the ground."
Boston - 89
Norwood - 90
Providence - 85
Hartford - 89
How I long for those temperatures. And as soon as we get them, I'll be longing for something 15 degrees cooler!
Friday, March 20, 2009
First Day of Spring
We'll see what the weekend brings.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Return From Hiatus
So what's been going on in my life since early February? Essentially, I got sucked into the dreaded winter funk...a place I tend to visit each winter but was hoping to avoid this year. Couldn't do it. Despite the snow and lack of riding, January was a good month...even as I found my motivation waning. But in February, laziness took total hold and motivation was lost. It didn't help that near the end of January I suffered a pinched nerve, followed by a 2-week head cold in early February and most recently a bout of the flu. Add to that the stress of dealing with the most severe slow-down I've ever been through at work and you clearly have a good recipe for winter funk!
When I last posted I called out my need for an 8 week training plan to transition to the riding season at a certain fitness level. Sadly, 6 weeks later and that plan has yet to materialize. However, all was not completely lost as we made good progress on the bath remodel project.
Ride Stats (21Feb09 Ride)
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: about 75 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: Sunday, 22Feb09 (never happened)
Temperature at start: 38 F
Temperature at end: 35 F
Gear: the winter stuff
So in the final analysis, with Winter finally behind us (I hope I don't regret saying that), I accomplished a whopping total of 2 rides this 2009 winter season. To me that's a HUGE disappointment given my mindset at the end of 2008. On the other hand, riding in the cold in general was a first for me...something I never thought I could motivate myself to do. I guess I can only wonder what might have been accomplished had the winter been warm and snow-less. For example, simply doubling my meager December ride stats (5 rides for 82.2 miles) over the last two months would have been a HUGE success in my book.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Okay...Perhaps a Bit More Than a Nuisance Snow!
Just released by NWS-Taunton:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGEHere is their first crack at forecast snow amounts:
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
407 PM EST MON FEB 2 2009
... A PLOWABLE SNOW FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT MAY ADD UP TO NEARLY 8 INCHES IN PARTS OF SOUTHEAST NEW ENGLAND...
.THE COMBINATION OF LOW PRESSURE PASSING ABOUT 200 MILES EAST OF NANTUCKET AND A STRENGTHENING JET STREAM PATTERN OVER THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES MAY RESULT SNOWFALL IN EXCESS OF HALF A FOOT AND DRIFTS TO 2 FEET OVER PARTS OF COASTAL SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS AND CAPE COD.
And to think, it reached the low 50's in many areas around here today. What's that ole New England saying..."If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." So true.
Nuisance Snow
This is a forecast map for Tuesday morning (1200Z = 7:00 AM EST). Generally when a low pressure area tracks this far offshore we don't get much snow.
Had my sights set on a Sunday bike ride with temperatures well into the 40s, but a survey of local roads by car revealed huge road-spanning puddles and many areas where the ice was still reaching the travel lane. I shelved the ride and focused on languishing home projects instead. Why can't a day have more hours?
The main project right now is a remodel of the half bath/laundry room. And the most difficult element of this project is the installation of a pocket door to replace the original door that swung into the room. Reversing the swing was not an option.
I took a walk at lunch today and decided that a plan was required to transition myself into the riding season in or near the shape I had hoped to maintain over the winter...but sadly did not over the last two months. My weight is up (pants are tight again) and my blood pressure has been creeping up a bit. The way I see it, I've got 8 weeks to work on some core strength, lose about 5 pounds and incrementally build up some riding miles...whether it be on the trainer or on the road. Eight weeks will bring us to April, and if I have any hope of riding a metric century by then I KNOW I need a plan!!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Our Next Weather Event?
This storm will be coming up the coast from the deep south and laden with moisture. Currently it looks like mostly rain for these parts and a fast mover...starting Monday night and lasting through Tuesday night. BUT, and you know there's always a "but" when it comes to New England weather forecasting, the numerical weather models keep tracking this storm further east with each successive run. So you've heard this a hundred times before and you'll read it here again now, depending upon the track this could be yet another major snow storm for southern New England. Interestingly, the models had the last storm tracking more and more northwest as the forecast period narrowed down and the outcome was snow to rain. What will this storm bring??
I'll update over the weekend.
Sorry about all the weather postings...unfortunately, I've been obsessed with winter storms all my life and since my butt hasn't touched a saddle in 3 weeks...well, you know, gotta write about something!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
January Thaw
I'll let Keith C. Heidorn, PhD, (THE WEATHER DOCTOR) provide the technical details.
A January Thaw is expected to fall within the third week of January, usually following a strong cold snap, but need not occur every year. In fact, during the very cold winters of the late 1970s, there were no January Thaws in the New England region during 1978 and 1979. (And they could have used a thaw!) There have also been recent mild winters when the Thaw was absent or hardly noticeable...Technically,the January Thaw is what is known as a weather singularity, which is a weather phenomenon likely to occur with reasonable regularity around a specific approximate calendar date. That date is typically January 23-25...and those of us living in these parts know that we have not observed any type of thaw over the past several days nor do we have any type of thaw in store over the next few days.
In prime January Thaw country, the ideal weather pattern characteristic of the Thaw period unfolds in this manner. It begins after a cold air mass from northern or
western regions has slid over the region (A), eventually moving out over the Atlantic Ocean. As that air mass leaves, the Bermuda High strengthens (B,C,D) and becomes positioned over the southern Atlantic Coast or southeastern US
states while a broad low pressure trough moves slowly across northern Ontario and Quebec (B-E). The juxtaposition of the isobar patterns of these two map features (E) places the northeastern US and southeastern Canada border region into a south-southwesterly flow of warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. This air advects over the northern snow and ice fields and begins a thawing.
Often during this time, the upper air wind patterns are in a period of readjustment, and thus surface weather systems stall or creep slowly across the eastern continent's mid-latitude belt. After several days of warmth, the regional weather again comes under the influence of a strengthened polar high (F,G), and cold weather returns.
If I had known there would be no January Thaw this year, I would have made a greater effort to get on the bike trainer. Yeah, right!!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Enough Already!!
This just out from the NWS:
***WINTER STORM WATCH***
...SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW EXPECTED IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND WEDNESDAY...
LOW PRESSURE WILL RACE OUT OF TEXAS ON TUESDAY...SPREADING SNOW ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
THIS WATCH INCLUDES ALL OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND EXCEPT FOR CAPE COD ...NANTUCKET ...MARTHAS VINEYARD ...AND BLOCK ISLAND.
SNOW WILL DEVELOP BETWEEN 3 AND 6 AM WEDNESDAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 10 AM AND 4 PM. SNOW WILL THEN DIMINISH WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH SLEET OR RAIN IN PARTS OF RHODE ISLAND AND SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS...AND MAY COMPLETELY CHANGE TO RAIN FOR A TIME ALONG THE SOUTH COAST. WHERE THIS OCCURS...IT WILL CAUSE LOWER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS.
A WINTER STORM WATCH IS ISSUED FOR THE POTENTIAL OF ACCUMULATING SNOW OF 6 OR MORE INCHES IN A 12 HOUR PERIOD...OR 8 OR MORE INCHES IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD. ANYONE TRAVELING IN THE NEXT 24 TO36 HOURS SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO MODIFY TRAVEL PLANS SHOULD WINTER WEATHER
DEVELOP.
I'll end this sad (pathetic?) post on a positive note...because there is reason for a bit of optimism. The current extended outlook for temperature presented below is showing above average temperatures across the Northeast starting in the first week of February. This would mean temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. Could it be a February Thaw? Could be, but I don't plan on holding my breath!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Harpoon B2B Ride 2009
Open registration starts at 7:00 AM on this Thursday, 1/15/09 (2008 alumni registration started last week). Here is the registration link:
Apparently this is another very popular New England area event ride (like the NBW's TFCE). To be honest, I had never heard of this ride until I was told about it during the TFCE last September. The next day I looked it up on the web and immediately signed up for email notices pertaining to the event. This year's B2B ride will be held on Saturday, June 20.
As far as 1-day rides go, the B2B is obviously much more difficult than the TFCE. It's approx 50% longer (148 vs 102 miles) and makes NO claim to be flat...after all, most of the ride is in New Hampshire! They also request that you do not register if you can't maintain a 16 mph average pace over the duration of the route...and they specify a 10 hour time limit for finishing the ride.
This ride is awfully, awfully appealing to me because it obviously would be a lot of fun and most definitely would be a challenge with the 10 hour completion target. I've been thinking about doing it ever since I learned about it...but I think I'm going to pass on it this year. There are a lot of other event rides in the New England area during the upcoming season and if I can prove to myself that I can handle a hilly century ride with ease, then my award for 2010 will be the Harpoon B2B. Of course, as with all challenges, I could be talked into it!!
Images courtesy of The Harpoon Brewery.
Friday, January 9, 2009
First Ride of 2009
It was a nice, relaxing, and reasonably warm ride as I decided to go slow for ice-dodging reasons. Overall, the roads were not too bad today.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 16.5 miles
Time: about 70 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: during the January Thaw
Temperature at start: 27.7 F
Temperature at end: 24.8 F
Gear: Polartec midweight base/Summit jersey/InsulaTour jacket/Zephrr vest on top...Polartec silk weight base/Bell Weather winter tights (circa 1988) on the bottom
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Looking Back on 2008
With this in mind, the one huge positive development I see going forward is being able to follow the adventures and challenges of other fellow cyclists as they strive to achieve their goals. This has proven to be a tremendous source of inspiration to me. Whether the bike bloggers I read are new to the sport or veterans of the road, whether they are younger or older, female or male, ride to stay fit or train to win the local crit, or whether they prefer hills over flats or singletrack over the pavement, the blog posts they string together allow amazing stories to be told of challenges, achievement, and the love of the sport...along of course with countless tips, ideas, and other bits of useful information. It's nice to feel connected to a community of folks with a common interest and I know it will help motivate me to achieve my goals.
Okay, here are the stats and graphs. First, a table of riding days and miles by month.
I rode 1,641 miles in 2008. Good considering the miles I racked up over the past 5 years or so, but not a PR I'm happy to say (being happy about this IS a relative thing I guess). That mileage was accumulated over a total of 78 rides for an average ride distance of 21 miles. Makes sense as I ride a lot of loops after work in the 18 to 25 mile range. What might not make sense in the table are the percent scheduled and missed day values. Unless you see the spreadsheet I use to track my rides, it might seem like the percent values are a bit high and missing days too low. What I try to do is plan the rides for a season well in advance starting out with 4 rides a week (Tues, Thur, Sat & Sun) for the first month or so and then increasing to 5 and perhaps 6 if I've been at it long enough. I never ride every day as my knees generally need at least one rest day per week (my knees will be the topic of a future post as I'm determined to bore you!). Anyway, the whole schedule is fluid and it certainly gets tweaked from week to week as things come up, but I always designate riding days versus rest days. So in computing the annual summary stats, only scheduled "ride" days get considered. To me, missing 31 scheduled ride days is not a stat to be proud of, even if many of them are due to factors beyond my control...like heavy rain and lightning (a common occurrence in these parts last summer).
The next two graphs show my cycling mileage by month...
Some additional stats are as follows:
First ride of season: May 18
Longest ride: 102 miles (NBW-TFCE)
Shortest ride: 6 miles (1st ride on my fixie)
Fastest ride: 17.7 mph (23 miler loop)
Most miles in a week: 166 miles
Fastest weekly avg speed: 17.0 mph over 145 miles
Days biked: 78 (62 on the Roubaix, 16 on the fixie)
Lazy-ass days: 4 (these were 4 of the 31 missed days with absolutely no good reason for not riding...as noted in my riding log!)
Solo rides: 75
Rides with Mark: 2 (Mark is my longtime friend who got me into riding years ago)
Event/Group rides: 1 (NBW-TFCE)
Again, I'm mostly happy with my 2008 accomplishments, but more importantly I certainly know what my shortcomings are that need to be addressed this year. Without going into a lot of detail (like above), in 2009 I'll strive to achieve the following:
- Continue fixie rides this winter as weather permits
- Start routine "training" rides BEFORE daylight savings time begins on March 8
- Increase the length of my rides in general
- Establish and stick to a routine of riding early in the morning on weekends (a chronic problem with me)
- Plan on at least one long ride per month (metric century or longer)*
- Plan on at least 3 event rides in addition to the TFCE
- Join the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen (NBW) and participate in a few group rides
- Double the number of ride days
- Double my yearly mileage (I'm setting a target of 3,500 miles)
- Eliminate lazy-ass days
- Ride with Mark at least once per month during the season
- Drop 30 pounds (I'm setting a target of 180)
*Note: I don't consider the one long ride per month goal to be Trio's Century a Month Challenge because I honestly have no hope of accomplishing that over the rest of this winter. I can say I will try, but I'm just being realistic.