two-thirds of 100

 

Sometime during the summer of every year, Laura OLPH does a pick-your-own-distance ride to Belmar. If you start with her at her house, it's a 100-mile round-trip; or you can meet the group at Mercer Park for 85 miles, or at Etra Lake Park for 67 miles. The wiser-than-I-realized Tom H told me he doesn't do "centuries", 100-mile rides, anymore, because he can't remember the last time he was 80 miles into a ride and said to himself, "Y'know what I could really use right now, is another twenty miles." I was so struck by his wisdom that I repeat that statement every time anyone invites me on a century ride, and I duly signed up for the 67-mile distance when I signed up for Laura's ride for today.

The only other taker for that distance today was Peter G, who's been off the bike and didn't want to risk taking on more than he could manage. We were told to expect the hundred-milers about 9am, but they arrived at Etra Lake Park to pick us up ten or fifteen minutes early.

 Laura plans stops about every 25 miles for this route, and Tom H agreed to met us at the first one, so less than ten miles after I started, we were at a stop to meet Tom, and so that some of the riders could attend to drinks and other needs (ahem).

We pass the Manasquan Reservoir on this route, and Laura invariably stops for pictures. The rest of us headed for some shade. That's Laura in the distance, on the traffic side of the road fence. Look to her blog for pictures when she gets her post up.

The ride into Belmar was uneventful, if faster than I expected; there was less traffic than on past rides, and a tailwind and a downhill to the shore.

Yes, we really got there.

And back. Tom H was on the ride, so there was a traffic backup for a bridge that was under construction and only had one lane open.

Tom looked at the state of the construction, and opined that we could have gotten past the traffic faster if we'd gone across the unfinished part of the bridge. I'm not at all sure our feet and tires would have remained dry if we had.

The last stop was at a Dunkin' Donuts in West Freehold.

And back to Etra Park for me. After four-plus hours, the new GPS was giving me warnings about running out of battery, so I was crankin' (insofar as my tired legs could have been said to crank) for the last little bit... and then, after I saved the ride, I got the message that I had several hours of battery left. I think there's going to be a session with the manual soon.

I'm rockin' bar-end friction shifters and flat, mountain-bike-style pegged pedals these days, and I think my average of 15.4mph for the two-thirds of 100 miles was pretty good. It suggests that the bonk from a few weeks ago was a one-time occurrence (oh, I hope so).

I've got a just-under-40 scheduled for tomorrow morning, and I've got some spots left. Come on out, if you're not doin' anything.

marked improvement

 There were a couple of "I don't know how that happened" things about this ride. The first was that even though I was a half-hour early, Jeff and Heddy were setting up before I got there, and Dave M rolled in a minute later. I'm always the first one there, and I'm usually waiting a while, wondering if I got either the time or the location wrong, before anybody else shows up.

Tom H had chosen a route from Bordentown to Roebling, over roads I'd mostly been on before, although I'm so lost all the time that I could never reliably find 'em again. I was out front, following the new GPS, when the direction told us to turn into somebody's driveway, apparently to get on the Kinkora trail. I turned around to see Tom waiting for us; he told us where we could get on the trail, and soon we were off again.

(Apparently, Jack H said he was just following me when he told Tom about getting off the route. Tome wasn't having any. Tom knows how navigationally hopeless I am, and told Jack he should have known better than to follow me.)

We headed down to the Burlington Eagle.

...and, shortly thereafter:

...because Tom's rides are not complete unless there's either a bridge out or a closed road.

Today was hot and humid. I was glad for the stop at Olde World Bakery.

And back.

So here's the other "I don't know how that happened" thing: on the last ride I did with this crew (well, sorta this crew), I was suffering after the break, and was off the back, pulling down the group average. Not so today, even though the heat and humidity were similar. I was able to keep up with the group, and, at the end, stayed at the back because I chose to, making sure we didn't get too separated.

You may need to blow it up, but you can see the group off the front in that last picture. I found myself in front several times today, and complained each time that I had no business there (other riders pointed out that I had gotten myself up front, so my protestations carried little weight). I don't know why today's performance was so much better than last week's (if you have the littlest bit of interest, you can see it on the ride page). But I'm glad it was, and I hope to continue to ride with these folks.

new gps ride

 

 

 

 My bike GPS is no longer reliably talking to the computers through the USB cable, and it's apparently decided that the setting choices I made are optional. I have a lot of respect for free choice and alternative lifestyles among humans, but none for appliances and devices (and this thing is far too limited to be an artificial intelligence, so we don't have to even consider that "but what if..." rabbit hole). 

So I got a new GPS, the Garmin* Explore II. It's recently come down about 1/6 in price, which suggests there's a new device on the horizon... but, after my year-end rant about affordability in cycling, do you really think I give a hang about that?

 

(*Spelling corrected after pointed out by J-M F)

It was just delivered, and I had an opening to go on the Team Social Security ride today*, so I had a chance to test it, while riding with some people I like, but don't see frequently enough, as well as faces I haven't met, or see too seldom.

*Sometimes I don't go because the ride is full before I get a chance to register, but more often it's because I have other stuff going on. Who knew retirement was going to get so busy?

They get two rides at different paces that go out of the same location at the same time. The team of Bill B and Lynne W led/swept the C+ ride, and that was the one on which I'd found the open spot. Lynne mentioned she planned to maintain a (shall we call it "regal"?) pace, and I resolved to stay in the back. (I was only partially successful; I got talking to a couple of people at different times, and found myself looking in my mirror at Lynne and her co-riders way back there... I did better at maintaining my pace as the day went on.)

On this hot day, Bill had chosen a route with a stop at Emery's Blueberry Farm. It's largely a sunny route, so Lynne's choice of pace was smart.

And, of course, new GPS klutziness: I did have a problem shortly before the stop, and wound up with two entries for today's ride: the first bit, and the remainder. (I've since learned the way to fix the problem I had, which is to ignore it for half-a-minute or so, and then tap the screen. I've also learned that this GPS slightly under-reports the climb, but that accuracy is less important to me than the routing.)

At Emery's Farm:

While at the stop, one of the members (who might be described as a "politeness-free zone", although some think of the person in other language) suggested I point out that lycra, the material of which most of our shorts are made, does get transparent after a period of wear. The tact-free zone member did not mention a name, but if you were on the ride, you may want to examine your gear.

And back we came. On the way back, we got separated into a faster and slower group, and I was grateful to ride with the slower. And at the end, Bill and Lynne provided WATERMELON! I thought it was a great idea.

And that new GPS? Now it's time to actually RTFM.

(Yes, I actually do read the manuals. I really AM that geeky.)