PFW : Griggstown Grinder : 20100629

This is the Griggstown Grinders' Longest Day Ride ... a week or two late following last week's downpour.

Steve was due to lead but went down with some sort of lurgy, but Diane turned up having been washed out from her vacation trip.

So, close to 33miles and according to ridewithgps.com, over 2000ft of climbing, it seems this site accrues every element of where the road is uphill, thus accumulating every single foot ascended. Some sites don't give such a high figure as this. I suspect their sample rate may be lower.

A Bit More About Cadence

I recently wrote about the subject of cadence, that is the rate at which you spin your pedals.

In a nutshell, when applying a driving force through the pedals, be set in a gear where you are rotating the cranks as quickly as is comfortable, without feeling your legs are about to fly off the pedals or rocking your hips side to side, usually between 80-100rpm.

There are exceptions to this; fast downhills where you might want to be in a big gear and a low cadence just to micro-manage your speed/acceleration. Similarly, a long smooth straight with the wind behind you will give your legs a change of pace in a big gear.

On hills, it may be you need to stand on the pedals, either because there is no alternative, or because you need a change of position. In this case, your cadence will almost certainly drop.

Finally, a small tip for those moments, either speeding on the flat, or just below the crest of a long climb when you feel your legs have had it, but you need a final acceleration or just some relief, use a beat of three on your pedal strokes;

• ONE : PRESS HARD on your RH pedal
• TWO : normal stroke on LH pedal
• THREE : normal stroke on RH pedal
• ONE : PRESS HARD on your LH pedal
• TWO : normal stroke on RH pedal
• THREE : normal stroke on LH pedal
• REPEAT ...

After a few revolutions you should find your speed increasing despite your tired legs.

Once again, this article is illustrated by riders displaying excellent pedalling style ...

Le Tour de France: 2010

It's that time of the year!!!

England and the USA are out of the World Cup, Wimbledon's boring, but the Tour de France starts this weekend, Saturday, July 3, 2010.

In the US you can watch it on VersusTV; in the UK, I assume EuroSport will have all day coverage, but I don't know if there will be network coverage.

PFW : Etra Lake to Monmouth Battlefield : 20100627

Today's ride started out in clearing skies for the hillier than usual Sunday Etra Lake to Monmouth Battlefield route.

As usual I sampled the blueberry strudel at Battleview Orchards. I sampled two to be absolutely sure, but they were pretty much as they always are ... very, very nice.

Bike route 562685 - powered by Bikemap 

I think we detected a couple of random drops of rain on the way back, although these did nothing to wash away the array of thunderbugs we all seemed to accumulate on this ride. Very attractive ...

Thanks to GaryW for leading!

PFW : Pennington Y to Sourlands : 20100625

Thanks to Andy, who lead a large group out of Pennington this fine June evening.

I lost my chain ... twice. I need to look at that.

By the end of the ride the pace at the front was frenetic; 25mph+ along the Rocky Hill road into Pennington ... but a couple of pretty lanes I didn't know existed. Nice.

Bike route 560173 - powered by Bikemap 

Glastonbury: live

Just listening to BBC Radio 6 Music from the Glastonbury Festival ...

It's incredible how good live music sounds at outdoor festivals now.

Give it a try. Even Willie Nelson sounds great!!!

The History of Everything : Well, my old bikes anyway ...

The previous article on the bike catalogue resource got me thinking about my old bikes.

The Peugeot wasn't my first real bike, I mean, other than toy bicycles. As I recall, my first bicycle was a Halford's roadster, rod brakes, single-speed, Westwood rims, etc. It must have weighed a ton. I learned a lot from that bike, and still bear a scar on my right hand from when I jammed it between the wheel and (very substantial) mudguard.

But in the late 60s/early 70s, Mum and Dad presented me with a Carlton Criterium. Not new you understand ... My father found it in a second-hand shop in Plymouth, UK, for gbp10.00. It was previously used by a Mormon missionary who had used it for transport while trying to save us.

I don't know what happened to it after I left home for Bristol in 1972, but the catalogue picture shows it pretty much as I remember it. Those stubby mudguards still look pretty cool ... shame about the riders ...

The History of Everything : Well Almost ...

This site is hoping to establish a comprehensive library of bicycle catalogues through the ages, and they're making a good start.

Still haven't got my Peugeot Champion du Monde though ...

Here it is; 25 1/4" frame; Vitus tubing; Weinmann brakes, 10-speed Simplex gears, Lyotard pedals ... actually, I miss it, seamed forks and all ... mine was blue.

PFW : Griggstown Grinder : 20100622

The Longest Day ... and the Shortest Ride ...

We tried, but the first spots of rain fell within the first mile or so, and by the time we reached the top of Hollow Road we could no longer ride between the raindrops.

Steve's iPhone showed we were surrounded by storm cells, so we returned via Dutchtown-Zion Road which was starting to smell of damp, warm dust and had that sheen which stops you letting it all hang out on the descent.



At least ... we tried ...

Tour de Cure : Century Ride - 20100619

It was hard ... but we did it!!!

Here we are; Gene, Gary and me just prior to setting out on the 100 mile Tour de Cure for diabetes research, from Brielle on the Jersey Shore.

We don't look like finely tuned athletes, but believe me, your first Century Ride is your own personal Everest. Special credit to Gary, who is proudly wearing the red jersey of a rider who has diabetes.

We took part as the "Old Cranks", our own ad hoc team for riders of a certain age and we intend to get one or two more centuries under our 6-packs before the year is out. We do this instead of buying Harleys or shopping for purses/handbags ...

I cannot begin to tell you the sense of achievement we have from finishing this ride and also the feeling of having contributed a small part towards the search for a cure for diabetes.

The ride itself was largely situated along the Jersey shore, but with several loops which made following the route rather confusing so it was easy to miss one and have to backtrack to get back on course. Large parts also ran alongside the beach so wayward pedestrians, cars diving for parking spots, recreational cyclists riding on the wrong side of the road and potholes made it very hazardous indeed. I fear that a young cyclist, not on the TdC was hit by a car just as we passed. I hope they are okay ...

And for Old Cranks like us, putting the first hills eighty miles into the ride was a bit cruel. I have to say, we suffered them heroically, although a rest stop meant I endured my usual two or three miles of hell while I got back into the swing. Our time was pretty good for beginners. An early puncture/flat put us off schedule and towards the back of the Century riders, but we dealt pretty efficiently with it. The tyre had taken quite a cut but we had an emergency tyre boot and spare inner-tube with us which did the trick.

There were rest stops every 20 miles or so, and these were most welcome. I did pretty well at keeping myself hydrated, drinking about 24fl.oz/hour of various energy drinks, nibbling my way through Clif Bars and eating several bananas.

If organisers are looking for improvements for next year, I'd suggest:

• Better on road waymarks. Often they were confusing, especially when routes diverged on the loops. Frequently, waymarks were under parked cars.
• Publish a map of the longer routes as well as a cue-sheet. Making a .gpx map of the route available for riders with GPS units would be a big help.
• Each rest stop have a pump and a couple of spare inner tubes available.

And finally, thanks to all our sponsors. We raised $665 for diabetes research.

Thank you.