Mechanical Difficulties Continue, and A Couple of Rides With Friends

You've heard me say that riding a bike is the best way to see the Eastern Shore.  So it's fun to organize rides with friends who visit us in Easton.  In mid-August, my Western Shore riding partner Gail joined Kathy, my Eastern Shore riding partner, and Rob, the brother of a good friend of ours, for the now-standard Oxford/Island Creek Loop/Trippe 35 miler.  (For you long time readers -- whoever you are -- you'll recall Gail from a posting, with photos, last year).  Gail and Kathy did the "I've heard so much about you" thing, because it was true -- I spoken (fondly) about each of them to the other.  Rob was a nice addition too. 

I rode the Trek because (1) the IF still hadn't made it back from the Midwest (very frustrating); and (2) my string of mechanicals continued.   The previous weekend I started a sole ride on the Basso -- having had the tires changed at the Bike Doctor -- and the left pedal unthreaded from the crank.  Never had that happen before.  Of course, should be an easy fix, right -- simply screw it back in.  Wrong.  Just like tires on a 30 year old rim can be tough to change, threading a pedal spindle into a 30 year old crank can be difficult impossible.  So, after doing a single-leg drill back to the house, I shlepped the Basso back to Takoma Park and brought the old Trek to the Eastern Shore.  Of course, the Trek proved far from flawless -- one of the pedal spindles was bent, making for an odd ride.

Finally, the IF returned from its Midwestern tour, and  College Park Cycles was able to torque the pedal back into the Basso crank (never to be removed again).  So it was back on the IF for the Labor Day Weekend.  We had two couples as guests -- Roz and Joel, and Cris and Carol Sue.  Cris brought his bike, and Joel was able to ride Susan's Specialized.  We did the 20 mile Oxford tour, at a slow pace, in part because -- another mechanical: a slow leak in the Specialized rear tire.  Fortunately Cris carried a pump so I avoided having to change the tube.

Both of these were late Summer rides:  the cornfields were brown, and a few had been cleared; the soybeans were still green; and almost all of the wildflowers were gone.  Another Summer coming to an end.

Shredded Tire, Pedal Woes, and RAGBRAI

Last weekend was my first on the Eastern Shore in a month.  Kathy and I rode together on Saturday, doing our standard Oxford/Island Creek/Trappe loop.  My IF hadn't made it back from RAGBRAI, so I rode the Basso for the 35 miles.  The Basso is a great ride, particularly on the flats of the Eastern Shore -- silky smooth and responsive.  This probably was the longest ride I'd ever done on the Basso.

I planned to ride on Sunday as well, but when I was getting ready to pump the front, I noticed that the tread was completely shredded -- something I'd never seen in all my years of cycling.  I knew the tires were old -- they came with the vintage Campy wheels -- but the front obviously has been on the brink for a while.  I tried to switch out Susan's front wheel, but she's got a larger tire that wouldn't fit the Basso's (nice chrome) fork.  So no Sunday ride.  I brought both wheels back to Takoma Park, where I figured I'd replace both old tires with some new rubber.  Shouldn't be a problem, right?  Over the years, I've changed too many tires to count.

WRONG!!  I snapped two tire levers, replaced them, and pinched FOUR tubes before doing something I haven't done in 40 some odd years of serious bike riding:  on Saturday I took the wheels to a bike shop and paid to have the tires changes.  The wrench at Bike Doctors said that the shape of the rims -- '70s era -- and the tight bead on the new tires made it tough.  He used a special mountain bike tire tool -- looked like a regular head screw driver, with a 1 1/2" spread -- and got them done.  So that should mean a nice Sunday morning ride, right?

WRONG!!  About two miles from the house, my left pedal became disengaged from the crank.  At first I thought the pedal spindle cracked -- which shouldn't happen on modern Ultegra pedals -- but that wasn't it.  The pedal simply came unscrewed.  I couldn't get a bight without a pedal wrench, so I did a "single leg drill" home, pedaling with my right leg.

The frustration continued when I got home -- it looks like the thread in the crank has been stripped a bit, and I couldn't get the pedal back on.  So, although I spend a bunch of time with my bike this weekend, I rode only about four mile.

But enough complaining.  Here are some quick notes on RAGBRAI, which was the last full week of July.  Seven days of riding with Team Joy Ride, about 540 miles -- the projection was off by a solid hundred miles.  Started in Sioux City and ended in Dubuque.  I jotted these down on my iPhone notepad, which kept erasing things.  So these are pretty random.  Note that the average speeds reflect time spent rolling slowly through towns and walking the bike.  This is a ride, not a race.

• Sunday, 73 miles, 14.6 avg, some climbing out of the Missouri River valley.  Brad & Darla our hosts on Storm Lake.  Cheap tequila and Tom, the Jedi, taking them for team team.  Boat ride on a sweet Donzi.  "What kind of engine have you got?"  "A black one."
• Monday, 105 miles, 16.9 avg, with the Karras Loop.  Rode fast, all day with Greg.  Pancakes for breakfast, German Chocolate cake for dinner dessert.  Algona with the 'BRAI veterans-- "the best years were 1985 to 1992."
• Tuesday, 66 miles, 14.9 avg, windy and hot (THI 105, they say), and then "cobbles."  Rode with Gail, Phyllis, and Suzanne.  Spent the night in Clear Lake at Lori's place -- she delivered phone books to earn some cash.  Fresh salad with dinner.  Spin Doctors and Buddy Holly Boulevard. 
• Wednesday, 55 miles, 15.6 avg.  Solo day.  Kelly's Pie, berries supreme and blueberry.  Fresh salad for dinner two days in a row -- this is RAGBRAI???  Charles City, at Jack's farm -- 80 years old and still a long haul trucker, 15,000 miles a month, with a tricked out Harley Soft Tail.  Pygmy donkeys and goats.
• Thursday, 88 miles, mostly with Greg.  Waterloo -- suburbs.  Saw Jason from TJR 2, finishing med school at Iowa.  Dinner at a real restaurant -- great piece of fish.
• Friday, 66 miles, mostly with Gail in the morning and Greg in the afternoon.  Heavy rain in the morning, waited most of it out at McDonalds with Gail, Phyllis and Suzanne.  Lots of nice town folks happy to see us.  Gail and I rode for about 20 miles in the rain, then the sun came out and the wind picked up.  Best pie on RAGBRAI:  Reformed Baptist Church, strawberry rhubarb (of course).  
• Saturday, 54 miles, hilly -- Potter Hill, a mile long with grades between 6% and 12%.  Most people walked it, I didn't but it wasn't pretty.  Some big hills after that, with some screaming descents.  Then it's "Take Me to the River" and back to St. Louis.

Catching Up

Well, it certainly has been a while.  Finally made it out to Easton the weekend of July 10, after being on the western shore for several weeks.  That doesn't mean I wasn't cycling -- far from it.  June 26/27 was Bike Virginia, or at least the first two days of it, out of Staunton (pronounced, as I was repeatedly reminded, "Stanton") with Christine, Art, Alison, and Alison's 72 year old dad, Phil (who KICKED our butts).  Two days of "Triple H" riding -- hazy, hot, and HILLY.  Day 1 was 58 miles west of town, in the foothills along Skyline Drive -- absolutely beautiful terrain, and decent enough shade.  The hills were tough, but manageable -- the long hills weren't too steep, and the steep hills weren't too long.  We finished relatively strong and had a nice small-town dinner.

Sunday was a shorter rider -- 50 plus -- to the east, with much warmer temperatures (high close to 100 degrees).  The terrain wasn't as pretty -- much more of a tour of the suburbs, with less shade and several walls we had to climb.  Used the granny gear a few times -- as I say, I don't use it much, but when I do I'm really glad I have it.   I headed home after the ride, so I didn't do the full five days.  But the full Bike VA is something I'll consider next year, particularly if I don't do RAGBRAI.

The following weekend started with my 60th Birthday and ran through the 4th of July.  Very hot again.  Rode both Sunday and Monday mornings, early -- pre-7 am start both days, to beat the heat and get home before the Takoma Park 4th of July Parade.  We all wore red suspenders in memory of Ernie Weisman, and the parade had a nice float in honor of both Ernie and David.

And finally, back to Easton the following weekend, thank goodness.  I woke up Saturday morning to lightening and thunder -- a true gully washer, with white caps on Jack's Cove.  The weather cleared a bit during the afternoon, and by Sunday it was a perfect day for a ride --  the morning started with a bit of crispness to it, with enough cloud cover to keep things relatively cool.  In contrast to many other Eastern Shore rides, I saw quite a few serious road riders -- and spent some time chatting with a couple of them.  The first was a guy who hammered by me on the Oxford Road, riding a Cervelo tri bike.  He slowed down after he passed me, and I thought he might be having a mechanical problem.  Instead, he'd notice my IF and wanted to talk about steel bikes.  We rode together for a number of miles -- at a considerably faster pace than usual for me -- and then split up.

After the Island Creek loop, I rode with a woman into Trappe.  She was heading up to Tunis Mills; I might have joined her except (frankly) she was riding a bit too slow for me.  So I headed through Trappe, across Route 50 along my "western Talbot" route.  This time I added a wonderful new loop -- I went out Barber Road, and instead of turning left on Bambery, I stayed straight out the Jamaica Point Road, to Schoolhouse, and then back on Chancellor Point Road.  This loop added 6 beautiful, very isolated miles -- plus something I'd hadn't seen before on the Eastern Shore:  large fields of sunflowers, which brought back memories of those great stages of the Tour de France through the sunflowers.  After the loop, I wandered home, taking different turns than usual -- a left on Manadier, across Rt. 50 at a different point.  Overall a great 60 mile ride, getting ready for RAGBRAI.

Three Day, Three Very Different Rides

I "worked from home" on Friday, June 19, so I was able to ride all three days of the weekend.  I knew that the next weekend was Bike Virginia, with lots of miles and big hills. (Because I'm late with this entry, BVa actually was yesterday and the day before).   So I decided to push it.  Friday was a beautiful day -- warm but not hot, and low humidity. I did the 20 mile there-and-back to Oxford, with three sets of intervals -- two were 30/45/60/45/30 seconds on, with the same amount of time at pace in between.  The third set was 30 on/30 off, with 5 reps.  Totally exhausting, but worth it.

Saturday was the day for miles, and the weather was a bit overcast and relatively cool.  So I decide to explore the reaches beyond Talbot County.  I took Llandaff across Route 50, then Landing Neck to Manadier, heading north to Dover Street and the Dover Street Draw Bridge.  The bridge crosses the Choptank River and separates Talbot from Caroline County.  The area on the Caroline side of the bridge has some beautiful wetlands -- they go on for acres.  I continued on the Dover Bridge Road, past some farm stands and a place that sold wooden furniture -- rocking chairs, picnic tables, and lattice work.  At about 30 miles, I hit the town of Preston, a nice little town that's probably seen better days (who hasn't?).  The town had some nice old houses, a few shops, and a combination gas station/market/liquor store, where I refueled.

Leaving Preston and heading north back to the bridge, I noticed that the clouds were burning off and the wind was picking up -- it was turning into an Eastern Shore summer day.  At about mile 35, I turned off the Dover Road, heading south -- into a wind that was rising from the southeast.  Which was too bad, because that was the direction I was heading for the next 20 plus miles.  I took some of the familiar roads of easternTalbot County -- Boston Cliff, Schwaninger, and Deep Branch, before turning onto Bruceville Road, over the creek, to the town of Bruceville.  I stopped there for a photo of "Antiques R," which features "Stain Glass."

By this time the wind was blowing strong, and it seemed like I was always riding straight into it.  But I pedaled on, crossed to east of 50 in Trappe, did the Island Creek loop, and headed home.  A very tough metric century.


I was planning to do the regular Oxford/Island Creek ride on Sunday by myself, because Kathy wasn't around.  But on Saturday night, at a diner with some friends, I picked up a couple of riders for Sunday morning -- Rob and Artie.  Both wanted to ride, but neither had their bikes with them.  So I fit Rob to my old Trek, and Artie used Susan's Specialized.  Rob's a rider -- as he repeatedly told me.  Artie is not; he's a runner and tennis player.  I figured he'd last for the there-and-back to Oxford.  But Artie was having too much fun to stop.  So the three of us did a 30 miler that included the ride to Oxford and the Island Creek loop.  We did the ride at a slow pace -- Artie was using flat pedals and had never ridden that far.  But he didn't want to stop, and by the end we already were planning our next ride, when he visits the Eastern Shore again.

All in all, three great rides, each very different from the others.  Here's a link to the metric:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3819613

Intervals and Landmarks

Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend was perfect for a hard training ride -- overcast with a bit of coolness to the air.  With Bike Virginia in a month, and RAGBRAI in two, I needed to work.  So I decided to add interval training and some miles to my normal route.  I didn't have my heartrate monitor -- the disappearing chest strap has disappeared again, so I decided to do 3 sets of 5, 30 seconds on and 60 seconds at pace.  I was cruising at around 18 mph, so I decided my pace speed would be 17, with all out for 30 seconds.

I did the first set on the Oxford Road after a warm up.  My top speeds during this set were 21 plus.  Remarkable how pushing 3 additional mph for 30 seconds can be totally exhausting.  Did the second set on the Island Creek loop, same interval and pace.  Took the third set at around mile 38 -- east of Route 50, where the fields are larger, the wind stronger, and the terrain actually rolls a bit. Plus, the sun had come out -- a beautiful, but warm day.  Gave myself 2 minutes between intervals, and was totally spent by the end.

Overall the ride was great -- took a few extra loops from the standard 40 to come in at around 45 miles.  The ride starts with the ride through Oxford, the Island Creek loop, into Trappe.  Some familiar landmarks:  the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, the white horse near Trappe Landing, and the three silos outside of Trappe. 

When I crossed 50 at Trappe, the landmarks were less familiar and helped remind me of the route.  There was the Pleasant Cemetery, Realizm Taxidermy (yup, with a "z."  Wonder where Post-Modern Taxidermy has set up shop), the Antique Shop in Bruceville ("Stain Glass"), and the abandoned house on Manadier Road, near Landing Neck Road.   Here's the route; photos to follow, perhaps.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3771135 

Sunday was a day with friends, and no ride.  But Monday I did the standard Oxford/Island Creek loop 35 miler, again with three sets of five intervals.  I felt strong on Monday, better than I did on Saturday, and did all three sets at 30 seconds on, 60 seconds pace.  Exhausting but seems to be producing results.  I did the group Travillah ride today (Western Shore), with full hills, and held my own with the fastest person in the group.

Wedding Weekend Bike Rides, PLUS Horseshoes (?)

Matt and Elizabeth got married on Saturday late afternoon, at the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels.  Big crab feast on Friday night, and a brunch at our place on Sunday morning.

What rain?

The weather forecast for this weekend looked pretty bleak -- strong chance of rain, with possible thunder storms (in April !!).  Just as well, since we've got the wedding in two weeks, and there are lots of chores to do to get the house ready.  But I took my IF along with me, just in case. 

Friday night was promising -- stars and a bright moon, without much wind.  And I woke up Saturday morning to full sunshine, with temperatures on the lower 50s.  So, with Susan's OK, I got myself out for a Spring ride.  Unfortunately, no photos -- although I dutifully charged the battery on Friday night, I forgot to put the battery in the camera on Saturday morning.  But the route I rode is a familiar one -- into Oxford, the Island Creek loop, through Trappe and then home, 34 miles, just as the clouds rolled in.

It's mid-Spring on the Eastern Shore.  The woods are fully leafed out, and most of the the blossoms are off the trees.  The lilacs are in bloom, and some of the dogwoods still are flowering.  There were lots of wild flowers along the sides of the roads -- yellow, blue, and white.  Many of the fields have been planted with hay and soybeans, and I saw several large fields being turned over by large "diskers," probably for corn.

It was "Oxford Day" in Oxford, with a 10K run, a parade, and a dog show.  For me, that meant the town was crowded, so I didn't ride all the way down to the ferry dock.  It took me close to an hour to feel fully warmed up on the bike, but overall it was a great ride.  It gave me plenty of time to think about my plans for the group bike ride on the weekend of the wedding -- you may have gotten an email about that this evening.

Spring, Two

Finally, Spring in Easton, and everything is in bloom -- daffodils and forsythia, apple and cherry blossoms, and wild flowers everywhere.  A mist of green on the trees, as they start to bud.  Perfect for a riding  Despite having a bunch of painting to do -- getting the house ready for Elizabeth and Matt's wedding -- I went for a nice ride each day last weekend.


On Saturday, I rode with Kathy, and we did the Oxford/Island Creek/Trappe route -- which I've ridden (and written about) before, but may never have mapped -- for around 35 miles.  We started at around 8 am, and it was a overcast and a bit cool -- even with arm covers, I was cold, without full fingered gloves.  But the sun came out, and the winds stayed down, for a great ride.

                                                 We've had a lot of rain on the Eastern Shore, and many of the fields are covered with standing water.  (I have a picture of one of this in my last blog entry).  It will be interesting to see how this affects the summer crops.  The drainage gullies along the side of the roads were full -- so full that there were ducks swimming in them.  Unfortunately, the ducks wouldn't cooperate for a photo.  But one of the "oreo" calves did.

Kathy's a great riding partner, strong and steady.  She grew up in Oxford and works in real estate/insurance.  Kathy knows a lot about what's going on on the Eastern Shore.  She told me that one of the big farms out on Island Creek Road had been foreclosed -- a 50 acre cattle farm.  I knew the place -- they had a nice corral, with a few horses, along the road.  Kathy said that the cattle had been sold off and that the bank was trying to sell the farm.  The family that owned the place ran a big landscaping company -- a father and sons operation.  They did a lot of work for local developers and grew (too) quickly during the boom -- bought up a lot of equipment a lot of equipment from Las Vegas landscaping that got caught on the front end of the bust.  One Friday, the owners showed up and took the truck keys from their employees -- they were out of business, 100 folks lost their jobs.  Very sad.  During the boom, the farm would have sold for more than $6M.  The bank initially listed it for around $4M; Kathy said you could get it for $1.7M.  Very sad. 

Here's the link to the route:  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3683573

On Sunday, I rode solo.  I rode out to Bellevue, past Bella Luna, one of my favorite restaurants, to the ferry dock, and then around town.  Bellevue has a working dock and a largely African-American population.  There was a family with a Chesapeake retriever on the beach, throwing sticks in the water for the dog to fetch.

After riding through Bellevue, I took a bunch of side roads, out Ferry Crossing Neck and Deep Neck Roads.  These are nice, quiet roads for cycling, but not a lot of nice water views -- big estates, with private roads, kept me away from the water.  But the trees were in bloom, and the views across the open fields were beautiful.  Not a lot of wildlife -- the field on the way to Bellevue, which usually has a flock of wild turkey eating the scrub -- was empty. 

This was a nice ride, but I wouldn't recommend it for a first (or second) ride on the Eastern Shore --  not a lot of water views, and the "there and back" routes aren't the best.  But there's no such thing as a bad ride on a sunny day on the Eastern Shore.

I've mapped the Saturday ride before, and here's the Sunday route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3623373

It's Been A Long Time Coming

It was a long, cold, snowy Winter -- probably did the least amount of outdoor bicycling since I first started to ride.  But March may be going out like a lamb, and both days this past weekend were perfect for early Spring rides.  I've been nursing a sore knee, so Saturday was a test day -- a short ride around the Woodland Farm/Waverly Island area.  The fields are very wet, with lots of standing water because of the snow melt and heavy rains.  We'll see how that affects putting in the Spring corn crop.  Cycled by Playtor's Cove, went home, and iced my knee.  

All was well, so I set up a Sunday ride with my local riding partner Cathy.  This was her first ride since getting hit by a car last Fall, so between that and my knee, we kept it to about 25 miles. We headed out the Oxford Road, through town to the ferry -- which they were prepping to reopen for another season. (The Oxford-Bellevue was established in 1683 and is reputed to be the oldest continually operating ferry service in the country.  The first operator was Richard Ryston, who was paid 2,500 pounds of tobacco a year (about $25) to operate the ferry.)

We did a loop through Oxford and then headed back to Easton.  The daffodils were in full bloom, and the buds were just starting on the trees.  I took my "Spring picture" of Peachblossom Creek -- I now have pictures of the Creek from all four seasons -- as well as a shot of Cathy.   Did both rides on the Basso.  The knee felt great.  Hoping for longer rides through the Spring.

First Eastern Shore Ride of the New Year

There's still plenty of ice on Jack's Cove -- the geese look like they're walking on water.  But the sun was out, the temperature was 41 degrees, and the wind was light -- a great day for a winter ride.  I started down the Oxford Road, over Peachblossom Creek, a fast turn around the Island Creek loop, back through Trappe, and then home on the Easton-Trappe road.  The fields were cleared long ago, and the leaves are off the trees -- perfect for broad winter views.  On Island Creek Road, near Martin's Point, I could see the Choptank River glistening in the afternoon sun, something that's not visible most of the year.  Overall a great ride to start my Eastern Shore cycling year.

Ice on Jack's Cove

Very cold and very windy.  Snow on the ground and

ice patches on the road.  Have to wait a bit for my

Easton New Year's Ride.  But the oysters and beer

at the Washington Street Pub are fine.