Today we biked AND built.
We biked (in the rain) the six miles to the build site, which was located in the greater Columbus area. We were divided into teams and were split between 9 Habitat homes that were all in various stages of completion. I worked with Kyle, Jorge, Lynn, and Jane’s father Keith in one home. I worked on installing window sills, window trim, and installing baseboards around the home. In the process I got my first experience with a nail gun and circular saws, and also used a miter saw in cutting the boards to size. Our supervising contractor’s name was Dan, a huge mass of a man who was built like Hulk Hogan and had been doing construction longer than I had been born.
The ride in the afternoon was mostly uneventful, and other than some more rain in the afternoon, the ride was pleasant and the skies soon cleared up.
Some other highlights of the day included one of the church members offering to take us out for ice cream, which was awesome.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
6/29- Newcomerstown, OH to Columbus, OH
Today it rained INSANELY HARD...3 separate times. Skies looked friendly in the morning, and I enjoyed playing catchup, eventually passing the first group as group leader Skip held steady to my back wheel. He quickly tired though, and we spent the rest of the morning riding at a conversationalist pace and chatting up a storm.
Skip decided to refill his water bottles at a gas station on the other side of the highway to leave more water in the coolers for those riders behind us, and after taking the off exit to get there, the skies began rapidly becoming dark and ominous. Lightning and more torrential rain ensued, which left me very fortunte to be hiding in a gas station and not out on the road. While we ride in the rain, we get the heck outa the way when its lighting outside, as it makes riding quite unsafe. After calling as many riders as possible to direct them to safety, we enjoyed some gas station food for lunch before hearing from riders who had ridden ahead that the skies were in deed clearing up. After waiting 10 more minutes, we decided to ride on.
Apparently this quick dry spell was only the eye of the storm, as just before we hit the lunch truck, it began pouring. Words can not describe how hard it rained at this point, as I can not even begin to describe how hard it was raining. It looked like, and felt like the rain you get during a hurricane, except perhaps with more rain. The rain droplets actually hurt as they pelted your skin, and visibility was limited to only a few feet in front of you.
I've ridden and raced in plenty of heavy rain storms, but I don't think I've ever come close to anything like this before. The Philly crit this year, the Men's A crit race in Philly in 2006, the hill hell ride I did with Adrian freshmen year where I puked on a bike can come close, practically every JV football game I played in 10th grade (with Elmont and Uniondale especially coming ot mind) could come close to estimating this level of rain, but nothing could match the intensity of this moment.
This was a moment that I had to embrace as being totally epic and one to remember. It was at this moment that I realized that even the worst day biking still easily beats the best day at work. I whooped and hollared my way through the rain as I passed riders, losing my voice again after having just finally starting to get it back after the chant of the day out of Johnstown.
About 20 minutes later, the rain slowed down, and eventually completely cleared up. The sun came out, the clouds disappeared, and unless you saw our group drenched and our shoes squishing on every downstroke of our pedals, you would have never known it rained.
Perhaps now is a good time to apologize for not taking more pictures on this trip, but at the same time following it up with the excuse of rain. It has rained more on this trip than I think I have ever encountered in three weeks, even for early spring, and this is rain that would destroy my camera instantly had it been taken out its protective map case bag that I keep in my jersey. During the rainstorm, we passed this giant building that looked like a picnic basket, but alas, no photos.
After riding in mostly pancake flat conditions for the majority of the day, we suddenly encountered an extremely short steep hill that was similar to "The Wall" in Manyunk, and left my back tire spinning and losing traction as I stood up to climb it. This was followed by mostly rolling hills that involved effort climbing.
At the end of this hilly road, a rider in the group discovered he had flatted. I volunteered to stay back with him as the front group rolled forward, and after unsucessfully patching his first tube, and then finally installing a new one, we headed on. After meeting up with a second group of riders, I decided to take a short break at a local Wendy's to refill my bottles and rest my knee which was aching by this point. I've noticed that the tendonitis tends to flare up after standing in one place for too long, so I'm going to try to spend time idling around on it, especially standing.
Another thing I've noticed is the wind picks up greatly around 1pm, and that riding into a strong headwind on a pancake flat road can be just as slow as climbing an 8% grade for 10 miles.I now understand why most tours leave from the west coast, as the midwest wind can severely aide/hamper ones efforts.
After my break I found myself on the road alone, when I noticed storm clouds assembling right in front of Columbus. With less than 10 miles to go, I figured I would do my best to beat this second storm. With my bum knee relegated to a dull aching pain as I churned it out in my big ring, I raced for our destination with the intention of beating the rain, but luck would have otherwise. The rain beganst anew, as I pedaled through, having pedaled passed a large suburban strip center and right after the on ramp for Clevland when suddenly I heard a large SHHHHHH from my tires.
Damn.
This would be flat #3 on this trip, and the third related to running over debris I could not see during blinding rain. It's also been the third large gash I've left in my rear tire, so at least I've made my flats count. It was sitting on the side of the road in this pouring storm situated about 2 miles away from any form of shelter that I first realized I had lent my tube out earlier in the day to someone who needed it. It was at this point that left me somewhat distressed, majorly edgy (I'm almost glad I had to deal with this alone), and in need of some quick ingenuity.
I might mention that at no point did I consider calling the van for backup, and it would have done no use anyways, as it was at least 2 hours away picking other riders up. On the trip we have something that some riders refer to as the "Effy" Club, which can be summed up as "Every F***ing Inch." Regardless of what gets thrown our way (knee pains, mechanicals, etc) its a source of personal pride to ride every inch of this journey. I don't really have an opinion on people who take off days, or who ride in the van, as this is their business and not mine, but the Effy Club is a personal goal to strive for that keeps you up when things aren't going your way.
I used my emergency shot blocks snack food on me that I carry for emergencies and used chewed up bits of shot block to help fill the hole in my tube that was then followed by glue and a patch (I used shotblocks as the glue was not setting on its own in the rain, and needed some assistance. I also used some more chewed up shot blocks to fill the gash in the tire, and backed it up with some of the wrapper to create a tire patch. Swearing like a sailor and still in a foul mood, I was able to install the tube, and proceed riding all the way until the church. I was so close at this point that had my craftiness not worked, I probably would have walked with the bike instead.
Meeting us at the church was Jane Wolcott's parents, who are awesome people (and apparently readers of my blog as well...who actually knew anyone read this thing!). Having calmed down and in an exceptionally good mood feeling lucky for just being able to ride in, I felt even luckier when one rider, Amol, was able to secure showers for us at the Ohio State Gym, which was lucky as our host only had one shower with bad water pressure.
After dinner prepared by the church (Mexican Food!! Hooray!! As much as I love Italian, diversity is the spice of life, and all of the food was quickly devoured with no leftovers. It was pretty late at this point, and after a group leader meeting, decided that our scheduled laundry day would be postponed a day.
This was totally unacceptable to me, who is a big fan of cleanliness. Handwashing our jerseys every day is alright, but shorts need a good washing or else health issues could prevail. It was at this point that as a late sleeper, I volunteered to do laundry with anyone else who would volunteer so that we could have clean clothes in the morning.
Finding several other volunteers, we went to the laundromat to find that it had closed. We had to go to 2 more laundromats before we found one that was open, and it wasn't until 11:45 after this exhausting day that I got to go to bed.
Not looking to the 5:30 wakeup tomorrow, but sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and just run with it....
Skip decided to refill his water bottles at a gas station on the other side of the highway to leave more water in the coolers for those riders behind us, and after taking the off exit to get there, the skies began rapidly becoming dark and ominous. Lightning and more torrential rain ensued, which left me very fortunte to be hiding in a gas station and not out on the road. While we ride in the rain, we get the heck outa the way when its lighting outside, as it makes riding quite unsafe. After calling as many riders as possible to direct them to safety, we enjoyed some gas station food for lunch before hearing from riders who had ridden ahead that the skies were in deed clearing up. After waiting 10 more minutes, we decided to ride on.
Apparently this quick dry spell was only the eye of the storm, as just before we hit the lunch truck, it began pouring. Words can not describe how hard it rained at this point, as I can not even begin to describe how hard it was raining. It looked like, and felt like the rain you get during a hurricane, except perhaps with more rain. The rain droplets actually hurt as they pelted your skin, and visibility was limited to only a few feet in front of you.
I've ridden and raced in plenty of heavy rain storms, but I don't think I've ever come close to anything like this before. The Philly crit this year, the Men's A crit race in Philly in 2006, the hill hell ride I did with Adrian freshmen year where I puked on a bike can come close, practically every JV football game I played in 10th grade (with Elmont and Uniondale especially coming ot mind) could come close to estimating this level of rain, but nothing could match the intensity of this moment.
This was a moment that I had to embrace as being totally epic and one to remember. It was at this moment that I realized that even the worst day biking still easily beats the best day at work. I whooped and hollared my way through the rain as I passed riders, losing my voice again after having just finally starting to get it back after the chant of the day out of Johnstown.
About 20 minutes later, the rain slowed down, and eventually completely cleared up. The sun came out, the clouds disappeared, and unless you saw our group drenched and our shoes squishing on every downstroke of our pedals, you would have never known it rained.
Perhaps now is a good time to apologize for not taking more pictures on this trip, but at the same time following it up with the excuse of rain. It has rained more on this trip than I think I have ever encountered in three weeks, even for early spring, and this is rain that would destroy my camera instantly had it been taken out its protective map case bag that I keep in my jersey. During the rainstorm, we passed this giant building that looked like a picnic basket, but alas, no photos.
After riding in mostly pancake flat conditions for the majority of the day, we suddenly encountered an extremely short steep hill that was similar to "The Wall" in Manyunk, and left my back tire spinning and losing traction as I stood up to climb it. This was followed by mostly rolling hills that involved effort climbing.
At the end of this hilly road, a rider in the group discovered he had flatted. I volunteered to stay back with him as the front group rolled forward, and after unsucessfully patching his first tube, and then finally installing a new one, we headed on. After meeting up with a second group of riders, I decided to take a short break at a local Wendy's to refill my bottles and rest my knee which was aching by this point. I've noticed that the tendonitis tends to flare up after standing in one place for too long, so I'm going to try to spend time idling around on it, especially standing.
Another thing I've noticed is the wind picks up greatly around 1pm, and that riding into a strong headwind on a pancake flat road can be just as slow as climbing an 8% grade for 10 miles.I now understand why most tours leave from the west coast, as the midwest wind can severely aide/hamper ones efforts.
After my break I found myself on the road alone, when I noticed storm clouds assembling right in front of Columbus. With less than 10 miles to go, I figured I would do my best to beat this second storm. With my bum knee relegated to a dull aching pain as I churned it out in my big ring, I raced for our destination with the intention of beating the rain, but luck would have otherwise. The rain beganst anew, as I pedaled through, having pedaled passed a large suburban strip center and right after the on ramp for Clevland when suddenly I heard a large SHHHHHH from my tires.
Damn.
This would be flat #3 on this trip, and the third related to running over debris I could not see during blinding rain. It's also been the third large gash I've left in my rear tire, so at least I've made my flats count. It was sitting on the side of the road in this pouring storm situated about 2 miles away from any form of shelter that I first realized I had lent my tube out earlier in the day to someone who needed it. It was at this point that left me somewhat distressed, majorly edgy (I'm almost glad I had to deal with this alone), and in need of some quick ingenuity.
I might mention that at no point did I consider calling the van for backup, and it would have done no use anyways, as it was at least 2 hours away picking other riders up. On the trip we have something that some riders refer to as the "Effy" Club, which can be summed up as "Every F***ing Inch." Regardless of what gets thrown our way (knee pains, mechanicals, etc) its a source of personal pride to ride every inch of this journey. I don't really have an opinion on people who take off days, or who ride in the van, as this is their business and not mine, but the Effy Club is a personal goal to strive for that keeps you up when things aren't going your way.
I used my emergency shot blocks snack food on me that I carry for emergencies and used chewed up bits of shot block to help fill the hole in my tube that was then followed by glue and a patch (I used shotblocks as the glue was not setting on its own in the rain, and needed some assistance. I also used some more chewed up shot blocks to fill the gash in the tire, and backed it up with some of the wrapper to create a tire patch. Swearing like a sailor and still in a foul mood, I was able to install the tube, and proceed riding all the way until the church. I was so close at this point that had my craftiness not worked, I probably would have walked with the bike instead.
Meeting us at the church was Jane Wolcott's parents, who are awesome people (and apparently readers of my blog as well...who actually knew anyone read this thing!). Having calmed down and in an exceptionally good mood feeling lucky for just being able to ride in, I felt even luckier when one rider, Amol, was able to secure showers for us at the Ohio State Gym, which was lucky as our host only had one shower with bad water pressure.
After dinner prepared by the church (Mexican Food!! Hooray!! As much as I love Italian, diversity is the spice of life, and all of the food was quickly devoured with no leftovers. It was pretty late at this point, and after a group leader meeting, decided that our scheduled laundry day would be postponed a day.
This was totally unacceptable to me, who is a big fan of cleanliness. Handwashing our jerseys every day is alright, but shorts need a good washing or else health issues could prevail. It was at this point that as a late sleeper, I volunteered to do laundry with anyone else who would volunteer so that we could have clean clothes in the morning.
Finding several other volunteers, we went to the laundromat to find that it had closed. We had to go to 2 more laundromats before we found one that was open, and it wasn't until 11:45 after this exhausting day that I got to go to bed.
Not looking to the 5:30 wakeup tomorrow, but sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and just run with it....
Saturday, June 28, 2008
6/28- Steubenville, OH to Newcomerstown, OH
“Two muffins are sitting in an oven. The first muffin says to the second muffin, “Man its hot in here” The second muffin says “OMG, a talking muffin”- Sofie Turrell
We resumed normal bike duties today, biking a full day before coming to Newcomerstown, OH.
We resumed normal bike duties today, biking a full day before coming to Newcomerstown, OH.
Some of the highlights of the day:
- I rode with the front group most of the day, enjoying mostly rolling hills (AND MORE RAIN...HOORAY!!!)
- Kyle and I played the ass slapping game during the morning, singing the Jaws tune and laughing our heads off. The game, which started in Pittsburgh, involves using your right hand to tap a riders left butt cheek that you are passing. There are many strategies to this game ( whose rules are much more complex then are worth writing of) which includes 1) starting later in the morning so the opportunity to pass more people arises, 2) stopping to chalk routes which creates the same opportunity within a smaller group of riders, 3) riding close to the yellow line which prohibits riders from getting near you, 4) calling car back to get riders riding together to single up, etc... Everyone's butt is worth 1 point, with Jose being the exception as he is worth 25 points. He has promised anyone who gets him to be in a "world of unpleasantries". Kyle and I are not phased.
- Right after passing a statue of a giant giraffe, we met two MIT students biking across country for the fun of it on mountain bikes, although they were closer to their destination than we were, as they were biking from LA to Boston.
- Ohio has ALOT of corn...acres, and acres and acres corn
- That night we participated in the town parade which celebrated Cy Young, who was born in Newcomerstown on this day. We met the local state senator and won $20 in the parade for the best dressed bikes, which sounded like a donation to me.
- The church also had set up a movie for us at night, and I got to watch Semi-Pro with Will Farrell, which I thought was really funny.
Friday, June 27, 2008
6/27- Pittsburgh to Steubensville
Today we biked from Pittsburgh to Steubensville, OH. Along the way we biked through West Virginia, bringing the total number of states we have biked through to 6 (Massachussetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio)
The day started off in typical fashion, with rain, and no sun to be seen. It's incredibly strange to be receiving this much rain, as we are biking from east to west, so we are apparently running into successful weather front after weather front that brings more rain every time. While I'm one to enjoy riding in the rain, this is actually becoming quite bothersome, as it means it becomes essential to clean ones bike every day, and it means spending 10 hours a day in a wet shammy, which after doing this for two weeks is somewhat of a health concern. This rain was also annoying because it was slow and steady versus the torrential downpour that I've become used to, and that made cycling almost a surreal environment.
West Virginia and Ohio mark the start of states I have had little to no experience with, which very much excites me. Originially slated as a 100+ mile day, the trip leaders moved around the schedule before the trip started to give us an "easy" day before normal mileage would pick up again (the extra mileage would be picked up biking and building the same day in Columbus, OH)
Today was a relatively short day, with substancial climbing, especially leaving the city of Pittsburgh. I was extremely thankful for the shorter day, as my back and knees were in considerable pain throughout the day, and I'm not sure I would have finished the day had it been a century day.
Riding into Ohio involved taking one of 3 dangerous highways over bridges, so we called for a police escort for the front group of riders who arrived to a prearranged checkpoint. Riding in a police escort was awesome to say the least, like riding in a presidential convey (just without the president and stretch limos part)
We stayed at the Methodist church in Steubenville, which was incredibly kind to us, although it featured one of the hottest nights in a non air conditioned spaces that I can remember to date.
Other noticeable things about the day was webchatting with my family and Katie, who were sharing a Shabbat dinner together. Seeing all of their faces made me a little homesick for probably the first time on this trip.
Today was also the first day that I've noticed the beating that my bike has taken so far. It has practically rained every day so far this trip, which is not great for the bike. Rain is the bike's enemy, as it causes all of the working components on the bike to rust and pick up road grime, which further grinds down the components. The bike has also taken a beating from my little spill, getting stacked next to other bikes all the time, breaks on the road, and just normal wear and tear from riding almost 1,000 miles at this point
Thursday, June 26, 2008
6/26- PITTSBURGH- DAY OFF!!!!
Today we had an off day in Pittsburgh, and boy did I need it. After two weeks of some of the hilliest and hardest riding I have ever done with no rest days, my body was reeling for rest. I woke up with my lower trapezius muscles screaming in pain, and after getting breakfast at the diner across the street, I hobbled back to the church where I tried a do-over of the morning and went back to sleep. A few more hours later, I re-awoke feeling slightly better, but still extremely sore.
After getting my wash done, I received letters from our second mail drop. The Ingber family, Dave Miller and my grandparents had all sent me letters/postcards which I was extremely appreciative of. Thank you all for your well wishes.
I spent the afternoon at the Carnegie Science Center with Lindsey, Allie, and Kyle, who have quickly become some of my best friends on this trip. We saw an Imax movie about the Alps, which made the climbing we did in western PA sound tame compared to the one mile verticle cliff found on the Eiger, the Alp's tallest and most treacherous climb.
We also saw the aquariums on the third floor that made me miss my goldfish, my goldfish, and crew very much, and a huge train set on the second floor that reinacted the Pittsburgh area in the 1850-1920 time period. We met a retired gentleman who gave us a whole tour of the entire train table, and even took us in the back room where he showed us "The Little Engines who couldn't". He also gave us a small donation for the cause, which was really nice.
The night was spent biking to Andrew Werner, who is still being architortured this summer at CMU, as he takes business classes for his minor. After biking to his place, we went out to dinner at Panera's in Squirrel Hill, which brought me back to my days in CMU precollege, where taking the 58U or 61C to the Waterfront or Giant Eagle seemed liked a really far distance. I was getting set to bike back when torrential rain and thunderstorms ruined such plans, so Andrew drove me back to the church.
Having climbed substancially the last few days, I figure I'd leave you off with this quote from former Tour Rider Jonathan Vaughters, now race diretor of Garmin/ Chipotle-
"That brings me to the key question, again: Why do people want to climb? Climbing, at its very core, is just a simple and hearty battle against gravity. The basic law of nature that oppressively pins us to the earth seems to be the one we feel the greatest need to fight against. Perhaps, then, this is why we are always trying to climb? Whenever we climb, we are proving that we can take on a force greater than ourselves. We’re pushing against something that holds us down. It’s the fight for freedom, freedom from the oppressive laws of nature as laid down by that rather aristocratically named gentleman, Sir Isaac Newton. We all know humans have a long and volatile history with the pursuit of freedom. Climbing is just a facet of this same fascination with being free.
With this noble and never-ending battle between gravity and the human race permanently underway, it would only be logical that when the greatest invention known to man, the bicycle, came into existence, the first thing we would want to do with this mechanical marvel would be try to climb hills with it. "
The full article on climbing, which I highly recommend can be found at http://theclimb.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/ready-to-edit-and-post-expert-advice-from-jonathan-vaughters/index.html
After getting my wash done, I received letters from our second mail drop. The Ingber family, Dave Miller and my grandparents had all sent me letters/postcards which I was extremely appreciative of. Thank you all for your well wishes.
I spent the afternoon at the Carnegie Science Center with Lindsey, Allie, and Kyle, who have quickly become some of my best friends on this trip. We saw an Imax movie about the Alps, which made the climbing we did in western PA sound tame compared to the one mile verticle cliff found on the Eiger, the Alp's tallest and most treacherous climb.
We also saw the aquariums on the third floor that made me miss my goldfish, my goldfish, and crew very much, and a huge train set on the second floor that reinacted the Pittsburgh area in the 1850-1920 time period. We met a retired gentleman who gave us a whole tour of the entire train table, and even took us in the back room where he showed us "The Little Engines who couldn't". He also gave us a small donation for the cause, which was really nice.
The night was spent biking to Andrew Werner, who is still being architortured this summer at CMU, as he takes business classes for his minor. After biking to his place, we went out to dinner at Panera's in Squirrel Hill, which brought me back to my days in CMU precollege, where taking the 58U or 61C to the Waterfront or Giant Eagle seemed liked a really far distance. I was getting set to bike back when torrential rain and thunderstorms ruined such plans, so Andrew drove me back to the church.
Having climbed substancially the last few days, I figure I'd leave you off with this quote from former Tour Rider Jonathan Vaughters, now race diretor of Garmin/ Chipotle-
"That brings me to the key question, again: Why do people want to climb? Climbing, at its very core, is just a simple and hearty battle against gravity. The basic law of nature that oppressively pins us to the earth seems to be the one we feel the greatest need to fight against. Perhaps, then, this is why we are always trying to climb? Whenever we climb, we are proving that we can take on a force greater than ourselves. We’re pushing against something that holds us down. It’s the fight for freedom, freedom from the oppressive laws of nature as laid down by that rather aristocratically named gentleman, Sir Isaac Newton. We all know humans have a long and volatile history with the pursuit of freedom. Climbing is just a facet of this same fascination with being free.
With this noble and never-ending battle between gravity and the human race permanently underway, it would only be logical that when the greatest invention known to man, the bicycle, came into existence, the first thing we would want to do with this mechanical marvel would be try to climb hills with it. "
The full article on climbing, which I highly recommend can be found at http://theclimb.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/ready-to-edit-and-post-expert-advice-from-jonathan-vaughters/index.html
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
6/25- Johnstown to Pittsburgh
"Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants."
Total distance- 79.3 miles
Total Time- 5 hrs 30 min
Average Pace- 4:08/ mi
Average Speed- 14.5 mph
Max Speed- 46.3 mph
Avg Heart Rate- 112 bpm
Max Heart Rate- 171 bpm
Total climbing- 5173 feet climbing
Today was a relatively relaxing day, with the exception of the route we took, which for the most part was highly trafficked roads. After two hard days of riding, I was content riding with the front group for the majority of the day and we kept the pace deliberately slow and took frequent breaks. However, it was a muggy day, and the route to Pittsburgh was pretty hilly, so despite our best efforts it still wound up being a difficult day.
After arriving in Pittsburgh, I did some celebratory laps around Roberto Clemente Bridge and the 7th Ave Bridge, where I raced in a Criterium on Easter Sunday earlier this spring. I am pretty familiar with Pittsburgh having spent a summer here doing a "pre-college" architecture program at Carnegie Mellon, and was excited to spend time in the city again.
Pittsburgh also symbolized finishing what is supposedly the hardest leg of this trip, as we have biked through the Berkshires, the Poconos, the Adirondacks, and the mountains and hills of western PA all in the last two weeks. I went out with many people from the group to PNC Park, where we went to a local bar and celebrated finishing this difficult leg of our journey.
Total distance- 79.3 miles
Total Time- 5 hrs 30 min
Average Pace- 4:08/ mi
Average Speed- 14.5 mph
Max Speed- 46.3 mph
Avg Heart Rate- 112 bpm
Max Heart Rate- 171 bpm
Total climbing- 5173 feet climbing
Today was a relatively relaxing day, with the exception of the route we took, which for the most part was highly trafficked roads. After two hard days of riding, I was content riding with the front group for the majority of the day and we kept the pace deliberately slow and took frequent breaks. However, it was a muggy day, and the route to Pittsburgh was pretty hilly, so despite our best efforts it still wound up being a difficult day.
After arriving in Pittsburgh, I did some celebratory laps around Roberto Clemente Bridge and the 7th Ave Bridge, where I raced in a Criterium on Easter Sunday earlier this spring. I am pretty familiar with Pittsburgh having spent a summer here doing a "pre-college" architecture program at Carnegie Mellon, and was excited to spend time in the city again.
Pittsburgh also symbolized finishing what is supposedly the hardest leg of this trip, as we have biked through the Berkshires, the Poconos, the Adirondacks, and the mountains and hills of western PA all in the last two weeks. I went out with many people from the group to PNC Park, where we went to a local bar and celebrated finishing this difficult leg of our journey.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
6/24- State College to Johnston, PA
"Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in three moves"
Total distance- 76.5 miles
Total time- 5 hrs 7 minutes
Average pace- 4:01/ mi
Average speed- 14.9 mph
Max speed- 45.6 mph
Average heart rate- 131 bpm
Max heart rate- 184 bpm
Total climbing- 5845 feet!!
Today was quite easily one of the most difficult, yet enjoyable days of the trip. Today was an exhausting day for me after the punishing pace I set with Jose yesterday. The route featured 5,500 feet of climbing over 80 miles and featured a large 2,000 foot climb that averaged 8% grade for the majority of it. This climb is one of the two large climbs used in the Tour de Toona held every year. I started the day by riding with Clay and Chris, the former and current presidents of Penn State Cycling who hosted us last night our hosts from Penn State, for the first ten miles, and then chased the lead group of riders before lunch. I took a substancial lunch break giving people at least a half hour to ride at their own pace before chasing again.
Total distance- 76.5 miles
Total time- 5 hrs 7 minutes
Average pace- 4:01/ mi
Average speed- 14.9 mph
Max speed- 45.6 mph
Average heart rate- 131 bpm
Max heart rate- 184 bpm
Total climbing- 5845 feet!!
Today was quite easily one of the most difficult, yet enjoyable days of the trip. Today was an exhausting day for me after the punishing pace I set with Jose yesterday. The route featured 5,500 feet of climbing over 80 miles and featured a large 2,000 foot climb that averaged 8% grade for the majority of it. This climb is one of the two large climbs used in the Tour de Toona held every year. I started the day by riding with Clay and Chris, the former and current presidents of Penn State Cycling who hosted us last night our hosts from Penn State, for the first ten miles, and then chased the lead group of riders before lunch. I took a substancial lunch break giving people at least a half hour to ride at their own pace before chasing again.
At the top of the first large climb, I rode through a field of wind turbines that were spread throughout the mountain chain and harvesting the energy of the wind to produce energy. Having never been so close to one before, I was amazed at the scale of these massive rotating fins that cut through the air with a large whooshing noise.The final descent was a nerve wracking 14% downhill grade that featured lots of hairpin turns. I took my descending skills to new levels by only lightly feathering the brakes twice during the entire descent (until the bottom), which was terrifying to say the least. I was actually quite surprised I didn't break the 50 mph barrier, although the strong head wind may have had a part to do with it.
Johnstown, PA is situated in the river valley between the mountains of western PA. It is perhaps best known for the "Great Flood" of May 31st, 1889 that occurred after the South Fork Dam collapsed 14 milesupstream that flooded the city and led to the deaths of 2,209 people as a result of the flood and subsequent fires that raged through the debris. The city definately appeared depressed, and a quick Google search showed that in the 2003 US Census Data showed that Johnstown was the least likely city in the US to attract newcomers.
We stayed at the YWCA where we enjoyed another great meal of pasta and meatballs. Later that night, one of the group leaders Kyle also showed me how to use De Lorme Topo today, which they use to determine our route every day. I'm very interested in the capabilities of this program in creating new routes for riding in Philadelphia.
I am very much looking forward to the needed break in Pittsburgh, and after two days of hard riding, plan to take tomorrow as easily as one could for riding in Western PA.
Monday, June 23, 2008
6/23- Berwick to State College
"Penn State Cycling- We got bigger cogs than you" - cycling sticker quotes
Today could have been called Bike Hard with a Vengeance. After riding at the speed of slow yesterday, today I rode hard with Jose all day. We didn't stop for either lunch break and rode fairly hard the entire day, powering through the flats at 27 mph and taking every hill at tempo pace. Today's ride featured mostly rolling hills, with a long gradual sustained climb that lasted about 6 miles and covered over 1,000 feet of elevation change before switching to rolling hills before rolling into State College.
Total distance- 93.7 miles
Total time- 5 hrs, 20 min
Average pace- 3:25/mi
Average Speed- 17.6 mph
Average heart rate- 133 bpm
Max Heart Rate- 171 bpm
Total climbing- 4232 feet
Jose is an extremely strong rider, and surprisingly strong at climbing given his larger build. For almost the entire day, I stayed tightly on his rear wheel, reaping the aerodynamic benefits of drifting. We rode 99.4 miles into State College (my garmin kicked out for a while which explains the distance differences, and yes, we were .6 miles from completing a century and didn't care enough to go the extra difference to claim riding a century)
We stayed at Clay Chiles' house, the former president of Penn State Cycling, and the coolest racer in the ECCC. Clay is one of my favorite people to see every weekend in the spring, as he is a consummate teammate, a confident and experienced racer who isnt afraid to take pulls at the front, and one of the nicest guys I know. I was sad to see his back yard no longer held a mini bike race course, but was happy to meet his girl friend, who was extremely nice.
We arrived at Clay's house around 2:30, which would have been much earlier had neither of us gotten a flat, or Jose not gotten repeated calls from a newspaper reporter looking to do a story on Bike and Build. Still we we arrived several hours before the next group of riders and decided to ride into town where I consumed some delicious Sticky Buns at "The Diner", a local delicacy, and consumed a Qdoba Burrito, in a freaky flashback way to the Penn State Criterium race held this year.
The knee and cleat issues were fine, but apparently I did not do as good a job as I thought I had on shifting, and was forced to use the tension adjusters on the cables to adjust my bike on the go. I actually took my first crash today, when a lapse in timing led to me crossing wheels with Jose and taking a small spill that left me fine but my bar tape a little scratched up.
Today could have been called Bike Hard with a Vengeance. After riding at the speed of slow yesterday, today I rode hard with Jose all day. We didn't stop for either lunch break and rode fairly hard the entire day, powering through the flats at 27 mph and taking every hill at tempo pace. Today's ride featured mostly rolling hills, with a long gradual sustained climb that lasted about 6 miles and covered over 1,000 feet of elevation change before switching to rolling hills before rolling into State College.
Total distance- 93.7 miles
Total time- 5 hrs, 20 min
Average pace- 3:25/mi
Average Speed- 17.6 mph
Average heart rate- 133 bpm
Max Heart Rate- 171 bpm
Total climbing- 4232 feet
Jose is an extremely strong rider, and surprisingly strong at climbing given his larger build. For almost the entire day, I stayed tightly on his rear wheel, reaping the aerodynamic benefits of drifting. We rode 99.4 miles into State College (my garmin kicked out for a while which explains the distance differences, and yes, we were .6 miles from completing a century and didn't care enough to go the extra difference to claim riding a century)
We stayed at Clay Chiles' house, the former president of Penn State Cycling, and the coolest racer in the ECCC. Clay is one of my favorite people to see every weekend in the spring, as he is a consummate teammate, a confident and experienced racer who isnt afraid to take pulls at the front, and one of the nicest guys I know. I was sad to see his back yard no longer held a mini bike race course, but was happy to meet his girl friend, who was extremely nice.
We arrived at Clay's house around 2:30, which would have been much earlier had neither of us gotten a flat, or Jose not gotten repeated calls from a newspaper reporter looking to do a story on Bike and Build. Still we we arrived several hours before the next group of riders and decided to ride into town where I consumed some delicious Sticky Buns at "The Diner", a local delicacy, and consumed a Qdoba Burrito, in a freaky flashback way to the Penn State Criterium race held this year.
The knee and cleat issues were fine, but apparently I did not do as good a job as I thought I had on shifting, and was forced to use the tension adjusters on the cables to adjust my bike on the go. I actually took my first crash today, when a lapse in timing led to me crossing wheels with Jose and taking a small spill that left me fine but my bar tape a little scratched up.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
6/22- Mount Pocono to Berwick
Total Distance- 57 miles
Total Ride Time- 4hrs, 30 minutes
Average Pace- 4:44 /mi
Avg Speed- 12.7
Average Heart Rate- 113bpm- The largely accepted convention for exercise is anything above 120 bpm
Max Heart Rate- 175 bpm
Total climbing- 3145 feet
Today we rode from Mount Pocono to Berwick. The route was fairly short (51 miles), with a few medium climbs and some nice descents. Today was my first day riding sweep, whose job it is to stay behind the last rider. After the freedom of riding at my own pace the last few days, today was painfully slow. Katie may still not realize how happy I was to see her yesterday, as just thinking of her visit kept me sane for the majority of the day. She also left with me with an anklet bracelet with little eyes on it to keep me safe, which was another nice reminder of her visit.
This terrible, no good, horrible day started off the same as every other: substancial rain coming down in buckets. However, today would be different, as in the downpour I ran over something substancial that left me with my first flat, my first of the trip. A day after losing the beard off, I would lose the tire flat standoff contest as well.
I tried keeping my frustration and edginess down to a minimum, as I continued to have knee and foot hotspot pain all day, which I believe came from continued cleat issues. The day progressed slowly but at 4:15 pm, almost 9 hrs after leaving in the morning, we arrived at our host destination.
After cleaning my bike, showering and eating, I was rewarded for my day's efforts, when Jose gave a clinic on derailleur shifting and how to fix them. While extremely informative, I was still a little unsure on fixing my own bike. I have always been scared of trying ot fix my road bike, as I have usually had things dialed in perfectly, so I purposely screwed up the shifting on my own bike so that I was forced to teach myself limit screws and cable tensioning. Finally, many hours later I found myself able to fix front and rear derailleur issues on my bike. This is quite exciting for me, as this is a valuable skill that I can now use on my own bike or for Penn Cycling members.
I will say I have a lot more respect for the riders who come in later every day, as they are spending alot of time in the summer heat and spending a lot more time in sweaty shammys. Many of them are riding just as hard as I am for their own skill level, except they are our there for several more hours working their hardest, which makes their efforts that much more commendable.
Total Ride Time- 4hrs, 30 minutes
Average Pace- 4:44 /mi
Avg Speed- 12.7
Average Heart Rate- 113bpm- The largely accepted convention for exercise is anything above 120 bpm
Max Heart Rate- 175 bpm
Total climbing- 3145 feet
Today we rode from Mount Pocono to Berwick. The route was fairly short (51 miles), with a few medium climbs and some nice descents. Today was my first day riding sweep, whose job it is to stay behind the last rider. After the freedom of riding at my own pace the last few days, today was painfully slow. Katie may still not realize how happy I was to see her yesterday, as just thinking of her visit kept me sane for the majority of the day. She also left with me with an anklet bracelet with little eyes on it to keep me safe, which was another nice reminder of her visit.
This terrible, no good, horrible day started off the same as every other: substancial rain coming down in buckets. However, today would be different, as in the downpour I ran over something substancial that left me with my first flat, my first of the trip. A day after losing the beard off, I would lose the tire flat standoff contest as well.
I tried keeping my frustration and edginess down to a minimum, as I continued to have knee and foot hotspot pain all day, which I believe came from continued cleat issues. The day progressed slowly but at 4:15 pm, almost 9 hrs after leaving in the morning, we arrived at our host destination.
After cleaning my bike, showering and eating, I was rewarded for my day's efforts, when Jose gave a clinic on derailleur shifting and how to fix them. While extremely informative, I was still a little unsure on fixing my own bike. I have always been scared of trying ot fix my road bike, as I have usually had things dialed in perfectly, so I purposely screwed up the shifting on my own bike so that I was forced to teach myself limit screws and cable tensioning. Finally, many hours later I found myself able to fix front and rear derailleur issues on my bike. This is quite exciting for me, as this is a valuable skill that I can now use on my own bike or for Penn Cycling members.
I will say I have a lot more respect for the riders who come in later every day, as they are spending alot of time in the summer heat and spending a lot more time in sweaty shammys. Many of them are riding just as hard as I am for their own skill level, except they are our there for several more hours working their hardest, which makes their efforts that much more commendable.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
6/21- Port Jervis to Mount Pocono- SURPRISE!!!
"I hate Chuck Norris. He's not that tough" -Katie
The ride, which was mostly flat until hitting a monster climb at the end, started to get much better at lunch time, when Kyle, Skip, and I were able to get the local Subway to donate 31 six inch subs of any sandwich we wanted for the group to eat at lunch.
However, it wasn't until after the massive climb and arriving at the church we were staying at that night that the best surprise of the day presented itself: Katie! After tricking me into believing she had to babysit today and would be unable to come visit me on the one weekend day that was close enough, she had called the main office to find out where we were staying, and called Jose to find out as much route information as possible. On the way up the monster climb, Katie had left several neon signs waiting for me, which was so thoughtful and well thought out. I found her waiting in the parking lot for me, with razor and shaving cream in hand.
Needless to say, I am officially out of the beard off contest. Aftering showering up, we drove to the nearby city of Stradsburg where we walked the town and had dinner together before coming back and hanging out with the group before Katie had to leave.
Today started out as one of the worst days of the trip, and definately wound up the best. I woke up exhausted after not sleeping enough (again!), to find out 2/3 screws on my cleats to my cycling shoes were completely stripped, causing the annoying moving cleat problem that has sporadically popped up during the trip. Thankfully when we were in Pittsfield at the old school bike shop, I took several bolts instead of just one; however, these bolts were already packed in the bag in the trailer. I was able to dig my bag out and fix the shoe problem.
By the time I had done this, the group had rolled out, and had already locked up the church that still had my bike inside it. Without any keys, I had to jump a fence, a wall and crawl through a window to get into the church and get my stuff.
Lastly, my knee has been somewhat bothersome the past few days, and I've been experiencing hot spots in my shoes which has been extremly painful. Once I got moving and found myself in a rhythmn though, the knee stopped hurting as much, and I've dealt with the foot issue by moving my cleat back.
Ride Details
Total distance- 60.51 miles
Total ride time- 3 hrs, 47 minutes
Average speed= 15.9 mph
Max speed= 40.3 mph
Total calories= 3917 calories
Avg heart rate= 133bpm
Total distance- 60.51 miles
Total ride time- 3 hrs, 47 minutes
Average speed= 15.9 mph
Max speed= 40.3 mph
Total calories= 3917 calories
Avg heart rate= 133bpm
The ride, which was mostly flat until hitting a monster climb at the end, started to get much better at lunch time, when Kyle, Skip, and I were able to get the local Subway to donate 31 six inch subs of any sandwich we wanted for the group to eat at lunch.
However, it wasn't until after the massive climb and arriving at the church we were staying at that night that the best surprise of the day presented itself: Katie! After tricking me into believing she had to babysit today and would be unable to come visit me on the one weekend day that was close enough, she had called the main office to find out where we were staying, and called Jose to find out as much route information as possible. On the way up the monster climb, Katie had left several neon signs waiting for me, which was so thoughtful and well thought out. I found her waiting in the parking lot for me, with razor and shaving cream in hand.
Needless to say, I am officially out of the beard off contest. Aftering showering up, we drove to the nearby city of Stradsburg where we walked the town and had dinner together before coming back and hanging out with the group before Katie had to leave.I know that Katie knew I was surprised and really happy to see her, but I don't know she knew how happy I was to see her. I still feel like a million bucks a couple hours later, and several people have commented on how I seem to have a noticeable extra spring in my step. Seeing Katie after not seeing her for two weeks reminded me of how special a girlfriend I have, and how lucky I am to have her.
Friday, June 20, 2008
6/20- Poughkeepsie to Port Jervis
"Chuck Norris tears cure cancer. It’s too bad, because Chuck Norris doesn’t cry"
Today we rode from Poughkeepsie to Port Jervis. Except for a few wrong turns due to faulty cue sheets, we spent a rather uneventful day biking the 57 miles to Port Jervis. Whil e there was a good chance of rain, and overcast skies, the weather held out and was probably one of the hottest days weve had so far. I spent today biking with as many groups as possible again, trying to be social. I would spend time in the back, talk, then try to catch up to the next group up the road. This became increasingly difficult as i made my way to the front, as the faster cyclists were obviously at the front, making the time differences between each group getting progressively larger.
random stuff-
Yesterday we spent the day at our second build day, where we moved bricks almost all day. I spent a considerable amount of time at night fixing bikes, which has apparently become another unoffocial role on the trip. I'm really happy that people are willing to trust me with their bikes, and my own repair skills have vastly improved, but some nights I'm really exhausted and just want to sleep.
I was elected chore captain of our group, which was a nice honor to get from my peers.
The beard off contest has become increasingly annoying, as I'm feeling quite scruffy and have to fight the urge to shave several times a day. I want to last to at least State College, and maybe even to Pittsburgh. I feel like I look like Curious George as my facial hair is as long as my hair at this point.
I developed a sty in my eye during the last couple weeks at studio, and it still has not left, even with repeated hot towels being applied to it. I think it wants to come along for the ride to Santa Barbara, so I've named it Stan the Sty.
I don't know what I weighed before the trip, but I weighed in at 182 today, so if anything I've GAINED weight on this trip so far. Since I don't think I've over eaten at all, I hope this is regaining muscle mass back after a long layoff.
Tomorrow's ride to Mt Pocono features two state line sprints (NJ and PA), and a massive climb at the end...since I will be riding sweep the day after, I'm looking to take tomorrow hard.
Today we rode from Poughkeepsie to Port Jervis. Except for a few wrong turns due to faulty cue sheets, we spent a rather uneventful day biking the 57 miles to Port Jervis. Whil e there was a good chance of rain, and overcast skies, the weather held out and was probably one of the hottest days weve had so far. I spent today biking with as many groups as possible again, trying to be social. I would spend time in the back, talk, then try to catch up to the next group up the road. This became increasingly difficult as i made my way to the front, as the faster cyclists were obviously at the front, making the time differences between each group getting progressively larger.
random stuff-
Yesterday we spent the day at our second build day, where we moved bricks almost all day. I spent a considerable amount of time at night fixing bikes, which has apparently become another unoffocial role on the trip. I'm really happy that people are willing to trust me with their bikes, and my own repair skills have vastly improved, but some nights I'm really exhausted and just want to sleep.
I was elected chore captain of our group, which was a nice honor to get from my peers.
The beard off contest has become increasingly annoying, as I'm feeling quite scruffy and have to fight the urge to shave several times a day. I want to last to at least State College, and maybe even to Pittsburgh. I feel like I look like Curious George as my facial hair is as long as my hair at this point.
I developed a sty in my eye during the last couple weeks at studio, and it still has not left, even with repeated hot towels being applied to it. I think it wants to come along for the ride to Santa Barbara, so I've named it Stan the Sty.
I don't know what I weighed before the trip, but I weighed in at 182 today, so if anything I've GAINED weight on this trip so far. Since I don't think I've over eaten at all, I hope this is regaining muscle mass back after a long layoff.
Tomorrow's ride to Mt Pocono features two state line sprints (NJ and PA), and a massive climb at the end...since I will be riding sweep the day after, I'm looking to take tomorrow hard.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Mail Drop... because there may be more to life than PB & J
So I forgot to tell everyone the mail drop information if they wish to send me mail along the way.
The next 2 mail drops are in Pittsburgh on 6/26 and Bloomington, IN on 7/3
For Pittsburgh- Packages/letters should be sent to
Bike and Build
Attn: Leonard Klipper
General Delivery
700 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
and for Bloomington-
Bike and Build
Attn: Leonard Klipper
General Delivery
206 E 4th St
Bloomington, IN 47408
The next 2 mail drops are in Pittsburgh on 6/26 and Bloomington, IN on 7/3
For Pittsburgh- Packages/letters should be sent to
Bike and Build
Attn: Leonard Klipper
General Delivery
700 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
and for Bloomington-
Bike and Build
Attn: Leonard Klipper
General Delivery
206 E 4th St
Bloomington, IN 47408
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
6/18- Pittsfield to Poughkeepsie
"Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding"
Today we crossed our first state sign, crossing into NY shortly after leaving in the morning. Unlike normal group rides where people usually sprint for town lines, our trip only bothers sprinting for state lines (well at least some of us anyway), which I think is pretty sweet. Jose easily took the sprint as he was able to make the early jump by using his Garmin 705 to tell him where the state line was. I would say that was cheating, but since I had the same information available to me (although I didn't know it), I can't really cry foul.
Total distance= 78.6 miles
Total riding time= 5 hrs 10 min
Average speed= 15.2
Average heart rate= 121 bpm
max speed= 41.8 mph
Total calories burned= 4555 calories
Today's ride was somewhat of a blast from the past. We biked past Bard College, where I had the ECCC President's meeting this fall to figure out the race calendar. We also biked into Vasser where we went for easterns 2 years ago.
After the excitement of the state sprint which was at mile 9, I kep the rest of the day fairly easy, and instead focused on riding with as many different groups as possible. While the mileage was more then we've done to date, the 80 miles passed by quickly, as there was mostly rolling hills that amounted to little over 3700 feet of climbing. However, what made the day challenging was the large number of people, myself included, were more then a little beat up after the climbing of the past two days. I never thought I'd be looking forward to getting off the bike so much for a build day tomorrow.
The ride consisted of only one major climb that I can remember now that I did several times to encourage various groups of riders to get up the climb. We wound up having to take a dirt road for about two miles in NY that included a pretty steep downhill (this is where the cyclocross skills came in handy, as I was ableto makepeoplealittle less jittery going down by coaching them to shake out their arms and keep their weight over the back wheel, etc..) The weather was mostly pleasant until we had more torrential rain for about 10 minutes in the afternoon. As much as I enjoy riding in the rain, the rain is starting to get annoying, as I've had to clean my bike and drivetrain every day except once so far this summer.
We are staying at the Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie, where I'll have a bed one of the two nights we're here. We were given money by Vassar (Chris Webber's alma matter) to buy food, so we bought Chinese food to break up the monotony of Italian pasta dinners. We were also able to get laundry done, and I was able to avoid having my chore group have to go to a laundromat.
I spoke to Katie today for a good amount of time today, which was really nice, because it's usualy pretty difficult to find any private time in our travelling circus of 32. While I'm definately having a blast here, I'm definately missing her. She seems to be doing extremely well with her new job (she has her own assistant!), although I imagine they are expecting a lot from her to give her all of these benefits. Unfortunately, she isnt able to visit on Saturday, so I'll most likely be seeing her when I return. The one benefit of this is the beard off can continue (we've slightly changed the rules so that its not how well we grow in the beard in, but who can last the longest).
We've also had other unofficial contests, such as last rider standing to go without a flat. I'm one of the few in the group to not get a flat yet (I'm fully planning on making it to Santa Barbara without a single flat). For those in the group who have had a flat (or several), some are counting how many they get.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
6/17- Amherst to Pittsfield
“Today's climbs are the result of Chuck Norris descending somewhere else”
Today was some of the hardest riding I've ever done. Exhausted from the previous two days of hard riding, I was hurting a little bit today, but apparently not enough to go head to head with Dave Miller, Jane Wolcott, and Jose the "Soul-Train of Pain" Soltren. It was another extremely hilly ride, with another 4,000 feet of climbing in 51 miles and grades reaching up to 17%. The ride today might have better been a collegiate road race instead of touring ride on a sixty two day bike trip. Although there was supposed to be thunderstorms, the weather actually held up quite nicely, and we enjoyed some of the best weather of the trip so far with moderate temperatures and mostly sunny skies.
I think had I been fresh, today still would have been very difficult, as the climbs were long sustained efforts that took alot of perseverance. The ride also featured some fantastic descending that we were able to take at the 45-50 mile range.
I've been utterly amazed and inspired by the rest of the group so far. While I was a little nervous about the group at orientation, people have been unbelievably positive. What they might lack in physical strength they have more than made up for in heart and determination the last few days. There has been no complaining about the difficulty of the terrain or the constant rain we've faced every day, but rather upbeat attitudes all around.
We stayed at the YMCA in Pittsfield, where we found showers and open access to their pool. We ate dinner nearby at a meal provided by one of our group leader's former scout master.
Today was some of the hardest riding I've ever done. Exhausted from the previous two days of hard riding, I was hurting a little bit today, but apparently not enough to go head to head with Dave Miller, Jane Wolcott, and Jose the "Soul-Train of Pain" Soltren. It was another extremely hilly ride, with another 4,000 feet of climbing in 51 miles and grades reaching up to 17%. The ride today might have better been a collegiate road race instead of touring ride on a sixty two day bike trip. Although there was supposed to be thunderstorms, the weather actually held up quite nicely, and we enjoyed some of the best weather of the trip so far with moderate temperatures and mostly sunny skies.
I think had I been fresh, today still would have been very difficult, as the climbs were long sustained efforts that took alot of perseverance. The ride also featured some fantastic descending that we were able to take at the 45-50 mile range.
I've been utterly amazed and inspired by the rest of the group so far. While I was a little nervous about the group at orientation, people have been unbelievably positive. What they might lack in physical strength they have more than made up for in heart and determination the last few days. There has been no complaining about the difficulty of the terrain or the constant rain we've faced every day, but rather upbeat attitudes all around.
We stayed at the YMCA in Pittsfield, where we found showers and open access to their pool. We ate dinner nearby at a meal provided by one of our group leader's former scout master.
Monday, June 16, 2008
6/16 Fitchburg to Amherst
Today featured some real intense climbing for 50 miles. There was the threat of heavy lightening storms all day, so ratherthen taking an easy day, I went all out in an effort to beat the rain. I managed to beat the storms that wound up not occuring until much later, but wound up soaked again in some heavy torrential downpours shortly after lunch.
Total distance= 51.7 miles
total time= 3hrs 16 minutes
Average pace= 3:48 mile
Average speed= 15.8 mph
Max speed 42.7 mph
Total calories= 3422
Today featured over 4,000 feet of climbing, although thankfully the last 5 miles were all downhill. I had fun attacking our first day in the Berkshires, riding tempo/race pace up every steep hill we encountered.
We arrived in Amherst, where we stayed at the UMASS Hillel, showered at the local UMASS gym and ate a meal at a bike and build alums house.
Some interesting sights/stories from today:
Everyone has named their bike in the past week and I've renamed my bike Chuck Norris instead of its former name of "race bike", because its orange and it kicks ass.
I had an amazing slice of pizza in the town of Amherst at Antonios- Mariachi pizza which consisted of guacamole, black beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese
We were supposed to stop for lunch at this town about halfway. The "town", if you can call it that, consisted of a church, post office and some sort of store, although there was not a single person out midday on a monday, which was extremely creepy. It actually reminded me of
the story from the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.
Total distance= 51.7 miles
total time= 3hrs 16 minutes
Average pace= 3:48 mile
Average speed= 15.8 mph
Max speed 42.7 mph
Total calories= 3422
Today featured over 4,000 feet of climbing, although thankfully the last 5 miles were all downhill. I had fun attacking our first day in the Berkshires, riding tempo/race pace up every steep hill we encountered.
We arrived in Amherst, where we stayed at the UMASS Hillel, showered at the local UMASS gym and ate a meal at a bike and build alums house.
Some interesting sights/stories from today:
Everyone has named their bike in the past week and I've renamed my bike Chuck Norris instead of its former name of "race bike", because its orange and it kicks ass.
I had an amazing slice of pizza in the town of Amherst at Antonios- Mariachi pizza which consisted of guacamole, black beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese
We were supposed to stop for lunch at this town about halfway. The "town", if you can call it that, consisted of a church, post office and some sort of store, although there was not a single person out midday on a monday, which was extremely creepy. It actually reminded me of
the story from the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.
I was able to pick up a pair of gloves at the local bike shop in Amherst, along with a washer for my cleat that hopefully will get me to Pittsfield, since one of my bolts and washers fell off today.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
6/15- Andover to Fitchburg
Before the official ride report, I think it's important to wish my dad a happy father's day. Without his hard work and dedication to our family, I would not be fortunate enough to be enjoying the benefits of this trip.
Total distance (on my garmin, not on the whole time)= 40.6 miles
Total time 2:36:48
Average speed- 15.5mph
Max Speed- 33.6 mph
Total Calories- 2796
Today we rode 45 rainy miles from Andover to Fitchburg. By the time we were on the road in the early morning, it was not only raining, but pouring. Thankfully the group was in pretty good spirits and we had a really good time riding on some beautiful suburban/country roads that also featured the first climbing weve encountered.
I happen to love riding in the rain, as I think it reminds me of collegiate cycling (especially the Philly crits in 2006 and 2008), so I was uber excited to be on the road. It's very liberating to ride regardless of what mother nature has thrown our way, rather then staying indoors.
The weather made me ride a lot faster then I might have otherwise, as by midday the weather had cleared up and by then we were just cold and wet. We reached our host destination of a Unitarian Universalist church by 2pm, but had to wait several hours before the van arrived, so I took the time to clean my bike and show other people how to do likewise, and participated in another one of our group leader sophie's eight minute ab sessions (Although advertised as "the best eight minutes of your life", I would argue otherwise)
I am on laundry crew this week, so after showering we collected everyones dirty laundry and went to the local laundromat so that we all have clean clothes for the next 3 days. Hooray for clean clothes!
On a totally unrelated note, the Garmin 705 is again paying major dividends not only for its amazing routing and mapping information (today I was able to reroute the group when one of the roads we were supposed to take was in fact a dirt road), but also for its announcement that in 2009, it will work with the Saris Powertap.
Tomorrow features 51 miles of hilly climbing to Amherst with more heavy rain likely....
Total distance (on my garmin, not on the whole time)= 40.6 miles
Total time 2:36:48
Average speed- 15.5mph
Max Speed- 33.6 mph
Total Calories- 2796
Today we rode 45 rainy miles from Andover to Fitchburg. By the time we were on the road in the early morning, it was not only raining, but pouring. Thankfully the group was in pretty good spirits and we had a really good time riding on some beautiful suburban/country roads that also featured the first climbing weve encountered.
I happen to love riding in the rain, as I think it reminds me of collegiate cycling (especially the Philly crits in 2006 and 2008), so I was uber excited to be on the road. It's very liberating to ride regardless of what mother nature has thrown our way, rather then staying indoors.
The weather made me ride a lot faster then I might have otherwise, as by midday the weather had cleared up and by then we were just cold and wet. We reached our host destination of a Unitarian Universalist church by 2pm, but had to wait several hours before the van arrived, so I took the time to clean my bike and show other people how to do likewise, and participated in another one of our group leader sophie's eight minute ab sessions (Although advertised as "the best eight minutes of your life", I would argue otherwise)
I am on laundry crew this week, so after showering we collected everyones dirty laundry and went to the local laundromat so that we all have clean clothes for the next 3 days. Hooray for clean clothes!
On a totally unrelated note, the Garmin 705 is again paying major dividends not only for its amazing routing and mapping information (today I was able to reroute the group when one of the roads we were supposed to take was in fact a dirt road), but also for its announcement that in 2009, it will work with the Saris Powertap.
Tomorrow features 51 miles of hilly climbing to Amherst with more heavy rain likely....
Saturday, June 14, 2008
6/12- First Build Day
Today was our first build day. After having a scrumptious breakfast provided by the Webbers we were driven out to the build site in Lawrence, MA. The site most of us worked on featured 3 houses, two of which were double residences. Last year, they had previously been nearing completion on one of the houses and close to finishing the others when a fire burned down the entire nearby area, and the family who had put in 500 sweat equity hours and had already ended their previous lease had to then scramble to find housing.
Construction began anew this may on all 3 houses. One group worked on assembling the framework and constructing the rafters of one house that had already had a fully built two stories, while my group worked on framing and lifting walls today. I spent a good portion of the day nailing studs and then plywood to those finished stud walls. By the end of the day we had put up the long side and the back walls of the house, while the other group had nearly completed installing the roof rafters.
The volunteers we worked with were all really nice and e
xtremely informative. Mike was a computer consultant who became involved with Habitat ten years ago when his wife was sick of him watching college football on Saturday and professional football on Sunday. (He still watches professional football, but only sometimes watches college ball now). Arthur was a retired CPA who joined Habitat to keep busy and to support the affordable housing cause. Tony worked in I-Banking and was the on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity of Miramack Valley.
There were many interesting things I learned today about the building site. Its one thing to see a built house without sheet rock, but quite another to see how things are constructed part by part. Perhaps the thing that surprised me the most was how uneven the building material was. In architecture, we are used to planing any wood we use until it is level and straight. Today we somehow took 2x4s that bowed every which way and made them square and level, which seemed to be an art in itself.
Construction began anew this may on all 3 houses. One group worked on assembling the framework and constructing the rafters of one house that had already had a fully built two stories, while my group worked on framing and lifting walls today. I spent a good portion of the day nailing studs and then plywood to those finished stud walls. By the end of the day we had put up the long side and the back walls of the house, while the other group had nearly completed installing the roof rafters.
The volunteers we worked with were all really nice and e
xtremely informative. Mike was a computer consultant who became involved with Habitat ten years ago when his wife was sick of him watching college football on Saturday and professional football on Sunday. (He still watches professional football, but only sometimes watches college ball now). Arthur was a retired CPA who joined Habitat to keep busy and to support the affordable housing cause. Tony worked in I-Banking and was the on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity of Miramack Valley.There were many interesting things I learned today about the building site. Its one thing to see a built house without sheet rock, but quite another to see how things are constructed part by part. Perhaps the thing that surprised me the most was how uneven the building material was. In architecture, we are used to planing any wood we use until it is level and straight. Today we somehow took 2x4s that bowed every which way and made them square and level, which seemed to be an art in itself.
Pictures of raising a wall 
Friday, June 13, 2008
1st real day
Today was the first day of our trip. After another awesome breakfast prepared by the church, (I really think our group is starting to get spoiled), we traveled about 20 miles from Revere to Andover, home of Chris Webber, the former program director who was killed 15 months ago crossing (walking, not riding) the street in NYC.We first traveled the few blocks to the beach in Revere, where we participated in the ceremonial wheel dipping ceremony in the Atlantic Ocean. We then rode the first 10 miles or so in neutral groups of 8. After a while we were let loose and allowed to ride at our own speed, which was a very welcome feeling after feeling somewhat trapped these first few days.
Today we will be staying at a private Middle school, and eating at the Webber's home for dinner. After arriving at Pike Middle School, I headed into town to pick up a few things from cvs, and find a post office to mail a father's day card.
The Garmin 705 that my parents bought for me is turning out to be an awesome piece of equipment that will serve me well this summer. Every morning
I am able to wirelessly receive the route from Jose's Garmin, and am able to get turn by turn directions as well as a highlighted map that lets me know when upcoming turns are coming up. Perhaps the best advantage of the new Garmin is its ability to get me back to the host location after riding into town to look around as I did today.
I am able to wirelessly receive the route from Jose's Garmin, and am able to get turn by turn directions as well as a highlighted map that lets me know when upcoming turns are coming up. Perhaps the best advantage of the new Garmin is its ability to get me back to the host location after riding into town to look around as I did today.As a totally unrelated note, the males in the group have started an unofficial mustaccio bashio and beard-off simultaneously (our excuses for not wanting to shave). In a few days my facial hair may be as long as the hair on my head which will be interesting to say the least.
Tomorrow features our first build day and I'm looking forward to physically aiding the affordable housing crisis.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
random thoughts from days 1 and 2
some of these thoughts have been brewing in my head for the last week or so, others are more informative of my trip so far.
1. Hair-
So after getting to orientation an hour early on Tuesday, I was told to do something for an hour, so me and Katie went to Salem to see a reinactment of the Salem Witch Trials. Afterwards, she wanted to get a cup of coffee, and I used the opportunity to get a serious haircut. As Katie said when she first saw me, "I leave you alone for 5 minutes, and this is what you do?" The haircut is definately a little severe, but most of the day its under my helmet or a hat anyways, so its actually helped me stay much cooler in the non airconditioned church we have been staying at for orientation. In addition, I also shaved my legs (very silky and smooth), also to keep me cooler in my process of reacclimating to heat 24-7.
2. Bike Accidents-
in the last couple of days, several of my friends from Philly have been involved in bike accidents involving other automobiles. Some of them, like Brenton Schwartz, wound up "lucky", and wound up with only a broken bike. Others, like Tyler Bauer, wound up physically hurt (I haven't heard any new updates, but I know he broke his hip in 4 places and is probably done with racing for the summer). Charlie from Temple was hit earlier this spring, along with a guy on the Penn Team. Either someone really hates Temple Cycling, or people just really need to start paying better attention to cyclists around them.
3. Bike deals-
www.Chainlove.com
check it out, one item offered at a time for insanely discounted prices until it sells out
4. Team Type I- A teammate at Penn is racing across America on an eight man squad for the second year in a row as part of RAAM. Last year, his team finished in 5 days, 15 hours
4. Orientation- The better part of the past 2 days have been spent doing orientation type stuff
It's been boring getting through alot of this stuff, and I'm quite surprised that for alot of people this is new information to them. Something that is particularly frustrating to me is that some people give wrong information, regarding bike maintenance and repair, which leads to bad habits. Othertimes people give more information than people want to hear or can handle at that moment, which is equally as unproductive.
5. Shakedown ride- Today we went for a dress rehersal of our first 20 mile ride to Andover tomorrow. Rode along the shore in the beautiful town of rever for a nice 15 mile spin. Tomorrow will also be a neutral day meaning we go slow, but after that I'm free to ride whatever speed I wish, which will thankfully be faster than the 10 mph average speed we set today.
6. Generosity- I'm beginning to realize how big a deal this ride is to many people. So far we've been treated to some excellent meals complements of the church that has graciously hosted us, and after the group leaders gave their presentation today, you could see how important this trip meant to one of the pastors and his wife. The wife told us how what we were doing was what was right in America today, which was few and far between everything else going on the world at this moment.
I also got to spend time today after everything with one member of our group who has all of $10 to her name for the entire trip, yet felt the need to come out on Bike and Build and help others. This incredible invidual has been self supported her entire life, putting herself through school and clearly working extremely hard between her four jobs and being a full time student. She wanted to do this trip after hearing about it because as she said " I may have ten dollars, but there are many people who have even less than me, so I guess I should consider myself lucky and look to help out." This kind of talk really makes you think of how fortunate I've been my entire life, where I havent had to worry about my next meal, or where I'd be sleeping the next night.
I'd love to write more, but theres an 11pm curfew that I'm running periously close to breaking, so I must be headed off to bed (the fact that I'm an architect major, and never get sleep apparently carries no weight here, as they are pretty stringent on the rules.) I'm not quite done, but Ill finish up tomorrow and write about tomorrow's adventures, if I get internet access that is.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Thank you donors
Before I leave on my trip, I am in gratitude to many people who helped me make this trip possible. First I would like to thank all my donors who helped me go on this trip, and more importantly helped fight housing poverty in the US.
If you have not already gotten a thank you note or call from me yet, Ill be getting to you shortly (this only applies to a few of you whose numbers I've had trouble getting)
I would like to thank:
John Lucier
Mohammed Almaraj
Daniel Simola
Stephanie Yee
Sarah Strauss
Al Feraro
Mr. & Mrs. Richard and Roberta Feinstein
Jeremy Brochin
Holly Martin
Ms. Mary Ellen Keating
Gabriel Oppenheim
Michael Fass
Len Riggio
Rabbi Adler
Max Roberts
Michael Rosen
Mr. & Mrs. Larry & Elyse Ingber
Mr. & Mrs. Tracie Deason
Rick & Tina Caruso
Swedler Family
Herb Simon
Shaber Family
Marc & Suzanne Winkleman
Eric Bowles
Fachler Family
Bishop Harris
Beth Alizzi
Mr. Lawrence Zilavy
Lucas Hartman
Irene Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Schnur
Gregory Meisel
Peter Farago
Together we raised over $17,000! towards the affordable housing crising in America.
Next I would like to thank my parents for financially supporting me this summer as I chase one of my lifelong dreams of biking cross country. I would also like to thank my brothers and Katie who are supporting me even at the cost of losing the one time a year where we get to hang out alot.
If you have not already gotten a thank you note or call from me yet, Ill be getting to you shortly (this only applies to a few of you whose numbers I've had trouble getting)
I would like to thank:
John Lucier
Mohammed Almaraj
Daniel Simola
Stephanie Yee
Sarah Strauss
Al Feraro
Mr. & Mrs. Richard and Roberta Feinstein
Jeremy Brochin
Holly Martin
Ms. Mary Ellen Keating
Gabriel Oppenheim
Michael Fass
Len Riggio
Rabbi Adler
Max Roberts
Michael Rosen
Mr. & Mrs. Larry & Elyse Ingber
Mr. & Mrs. Tracie Deason
Rick & Tina Caruso
Swedler Family
Herb Simon
Shaber Family
Marc & Suzanne Winkleman
Eric Bowles
Fachler Family
Bishop Harris
Beth Alizzi
Mr. Lawrence Zilavy
Lucas Hartman
Irene Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Schnur
Gregory Meisel
Peter Farago
Together we raised over $17,000! towards the affordable housing crising in America.
Next I would like to thank my parents for financially supporting me this summer as I chase one of my lifelong dreams of biking cross country. I would also like to thank my brothers and Katie who are supporting me even at the cost of losing the one time a year where we get to hang out alot.
Friday, June 6, 2008
End of Work, Train Game
Today was my last day of working at GreenbergFarrow until August. While I’ll hold off talking about my full summer experience there until after I’ve finished my stint when I return from bike and build, I thought I would speak of matters much more trivial and exciting.
There were many observations that I made in my month sampling of the real world.
1) I have a lot more respect for my dad, and for all working people, who wake up early, commute to work, work a full day doing something that’s probably not a whole lot exciting, commute home, to only then have to deal with all of the responsibilities of home before going to sleep because you have to repeat the same deal tomorrow. Regardless of how exciting your job is, or what you make, work is tough and mentally demanding, plain and simple. Every time I sample the working world, I’m reminded of how fortunate I am to still be a student with lots of freedom and few responsibilities. It’s difficult to be as grateful to your parents as one should be until you actually experience the working world.
2) I’ve realized that in the working world, groundbreaking ideas and enlightening days are far and few between. I’ve realized life is better broken down into the small moral victories of the everyday. There were many ways to take the mundane everyday, and create excitement in that time. A sampling of my favorite games I would play…
a) Train game-
The LIRR features a row of 2 seats on one side, 3 seats on the other side of the aisle. About 75% of the aisle of 3 will feature a third person in the middle, where about 90% of the aisle of the 2 will feature both people. I would leave the office at 5:30 for a 5:46 train which usually left me with the option of
1) taking the aisle seat in the row of 3 and play the odds of having my own space surrounded by the aisle and the extra middle seat at the risk of an overweight burly man sweating profusely squeezing into the middle seat or
2) picking the person I would spend the next hour sitting next to which cut off the chance factor, and left you with a little more space then if you were part of the 3
Usually I would go for the aisle seat of 3, for no other reason then the suspense of continuing this game. Now came the tough part. If 80% of the seats are going to be filled with a 3rd middle person, how do you maximize your odds of being one of the lucky few? Usually, if you have to pick a middle seat, you look for at least 1 if not both people to be preferably thin, and/or female, mainly because both groups took considerably less space than overweight men. Not that anyone is going to describe me as lanky, but my smaller size only further hurt my odds of being in that 20%. There were several strategies I would play, some in combinations with another, in my attempts to create a personal space for the next hour.
Strategy I: I would try to take up as much space with my smaller body as possible, further filling up space by leaving my chrome messenger bag in the middle seat.
Strategy II: Electronics- I might try to take out my laptop and headphones and begin blogging as soon as I get on the train so that I already have large electronics already out, so people don’t want to deal with the hassle of me having to awkwardly get up with all my stuff so they can squeeze in.
Strategy III: cell phones- nobody likes sitting next to that blabbermouth on the train, so it didn’t hurt to place a strategic phone call and try talking loudy
Strategy IV: Rarely used, but sometimes Id pretend to already be sleeping, as it was easier to sit with someone else than to have to bother waking me up.
There were other strategies as well, such as taking one of the two seats on one end of the train that did not feature a window, which could potentially shield you from other sitters.
You may think this is totally ridiculous, and I’ll admit there is no empirical evidence that suggests that any of what I’ve described has helped at all, but it certainly keeps things more exciting then had I just viewed this hour experience as an hour that I can never get back from my life.
b) Elevator game- there are 3 elevators that are in my office building, and there is no indication of where each one is on every floor. This simple game played on the way to work, on the way to lunch, on the way back from lunch, and on the way home involves guessing which elevator is the one to pick you up.
c) Ketchup game- guessing the number of individual wrapped ketchup packets that would be included with my burger special
There are many more games that I play every day, that makes the everyday exciting. These small victories may be as simple as finding a new, quicker route to take to work once I leave Penn Station, or finding a cheaper lunch deal than the Korean deli you tried yesterday. As the hustling accapella group on my subway today said, do things everyday that bring you up, not down.
There were many observations that I made in my month sampling of the real world.
1) I have a lot more respect for my dad, and for all working people, who wake up early, commute to work, work a full day doing something that’s probably not a whole lot exciting, commute home, to only then have to deal with all of the responsibilities of home before going to sleep because you have to repeat the same deal tomorrow. Regardless of how exciting your job is, or what you make, work is tough and mentally demanding, plain and simple. Every time I sample the working world, I’m reminded of how fortunate I am to still be a student with lots of freedom and few responsibilities. It’s difficult to be as grateful to your parents as one should be until you actually experience the working world.
2) I’ve realized that in the working world, groundbreaking ideas and enlightening days are far and few between. I’ve realized life is better broken down into the small moral victories of the everyday. There were many ways to take the mundane everyday, and create excitement in that time. A sampling of my favorite games I would play…
a) Train game-
The LIRR features a row of 2 seats on one side, 3 seats on the other side of the aisle. About 75% of the aisle of 3 will feature a third person in the middle, where about 90% of the aisle of the 2 will feature both people. I would leave the office at 5:30 for a 5:46 train which usually left me with the option of
1) taking the aisle seat in the row of 3 and play the odds of having my own space surrounded by the aisle and the extra middle seat at the risk of an overweight burly man sweating profusely squeezing into the middle seat or
2) picking the person I would spend the next hour sitting next to which cut off the chance factor, and left you with a little more space then if you were part of the 3
Usually I would go for the aisle seat of 3, for no other reason then the suspense of continuing this game. Now came the tough part. If 80% of the seats are going to be filled with a 3rd middle person, how do you maximize your odds of being one of the lucky few? Usually, if you have to pick a middle seat, you look for at least 1 if not both people to be preferably thin, and/or female, mainly because both groups took considerably less space than overweight men. Not that anyone is going to describe me as lanky, but my smaller size only further hurt my odds of being in that 20%. There were several strategies I would play, some in combinations with another, in my attempts to create a personal space for the next hour.
Strategy I: I would try to take up as much space with my smaller body as possible, further filling up space by leaving my chrome messenger bag in the middle seat.
Strategy II: Electronics- I might try to take out my laptop and headphones and begin blogging as soon as I get on the train so that I already have large electronics already out, so people don’t want to deal with the hassle of me having to awkwardly get up with all my stuff so they can squeeze in.
Strategy III: cell phones- nobody likes sitting next to that blabbermouth on the train, so it didn’t hurt to place a strategic phone call and try talking loudy
Strategy IV: Rarely used, but sometimes Id pretend to already be sleeping, as it was easier to sit with someone else than to have to bother waking me up.
There were other strategies as well, such as taking one of the two seats on one end of the train that did not feature a window, which could potentially shield you from other sitters.
You may think this is totally ridiculous, and I’ll admit there is no empirical evidence that suggests that any of what I’ve described has helped at all, but it certainly keeps things more exciting then had I just viewed this hour experience as an hour that I can never get back from my life.
b) Elevator game- there are 3 elevators that are in my office building, and there is no indication of where each one is on every floor. This simple game played on the way to work, on the way to lunch, on the way back from lunch, and on the way home involves guessing which elevator is the one to pick you up.
c) Ketchup game- guessing the number of individual wrapped ketchup packets that would be included with my burger special
There are many more games that I play every day, that makes the everyday exciting. These small victories may be as simple as finding a new, quicker route to take to work once I leave Penn Station, or finding a cheaper lunch deal than the Korean deli you tried yesterday. As the hustling accapella group on my subway today said, do things everyday that bring you up, not down.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
goldfish
it seems like there is so much to do with so little time!
by the time I've gotten home from work, I've had little time to relax, as I've either been preparing for the trip, or trying to spend time with the people I'm going to miss the most.
Yesterday I went to visit my Uncle Johnny (UJ), Aunt Laura, cousin Marissa and have "visitation rights" with my fish. Since my parents neither wanted the responsibility of keeping my goldfish alive, nor did they wish to have a 20 gallon, let alone a 55 gallon fish tank in the house, my uncle who is a skilled acquarist himself, gladly and graciously agreed to take care of my goldfish for the summer.
My 3 goldfish, Emerill, Dewey and Elie along with Matt Emerick's fish Bettamax and my uncle's goldfish and fellow tank buddy Jumbo are all comfortably living in a 55 gallon aquarium in my uncle's basement. I can hardly wait for the day where I'll be able to move the tank to my own place, as it is truly a sight to behold.
by the time I've gotten home from work, I've had little time to relax, as I've either been preparing for the trip, or trying to spend time with the people I'm going to miss the most.
Yesterday I went to visit my Uncle Johnny (UJ), Aunt Laura, cousin Marissa and have "visitation rights" with my fish. Since my parents neither wanted the responsibility of keeping my goldfish alive, nor did they wish to have a 20 gallon, let alone a 55 gallon fish tank in the house, my uncle who is a skilled acquarist himself, gladly and graciously agreed to take care of my goldfish for the summer.
My 3 goldfish, Emerill, Dewey and Elie along with Matt Emerick's fish Bettamax and my uncle's goldfish and fellow tank buddy Jumbo are all comfortably living in a 55 gallon aquarium in my uncle's basement. I can hardly wait for the day where I'll be able to move the tank to my own place, as it is truly a sight to behold.
bike preperation
so ive been working to get my gear and bike up to my standards for this trip.
First- the bike.
I will be taking my 2005 Cannondale Caad 7 on the trip. The original picture of the bike shown above shows a picture of what the bike looked like when I bought it. The only thing remaining off the original bike is the frame and fork, as everything else has been crashed, broken, upgraded, worn out or replaced for other reasons. To make a long story short, the 9 speed 105 components were replaced with 10 speed ultegra this winter, the wheels were swapped out for my cyclocross wheelset and i switched the saddle to a white arione saddle to match my white handlebar tape. While not exact, this photo of me racing at Columbia this year is pretty close to my bike and build setup. The biggest difference will be having 2 rear mounted cages, tri bars, and Katie's front light.
I finally was able to pick up both my bike and katie's bike from Bike Junkie yesterday, where they replaced my chain, replaced my bent derailleur hanger and cleaned, fine tuned the shifting, adjusted the brakes, and a multitude of other things that will make the bike run smooth for 4,000 miles. I also was able to have my ksyrium sl front wheel trued, as it turns out I broke a spoke- riding my SL's in the woods will not be a mistake I make again, especially once they come off the mp3 plan insurance.
Stuff that I've ordered online has also started coming in, along with stuff I've picked up from the shop. I've loaded up on spare tubes, an extra chain, assos chamois cream, continental gatorskin tires, powerbars in every flavor. My sleeping bag came in, along with my masterlock bike cuffs which i may or may not take with me. The biggest news came today with the arrival of my garmin edge 705, which has several upgrades over my "old" edge 305. The biggest advantages worth bragging about are having fully routed gps maps for my entire cross country route, and the ability to wirelessly communicate with power meters which im looking to pick up when i return.
Much new bike shwag to play with!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
serious bike accident
so the big news that has been circulating on all of the collegiate listservs im on has been about the big bike crash in mexico that involved an intoxicated driver that fell asleep driving and plowed into a large group of bikers participating in a bike race.
The graphic photo above shows the carnage that unfolded.
This kind of crap really pisses me off as a cyclist...
It definately makes you think twice about the inherent dangers of a cross country bike trip, as with all of my experience and extra caution I could still get screwed over just because someone's not paying attention. While overexaggerated, I know the Yale Habitat ride closed due to too many people getting hurt by being hit by cars. Hopefully our group has better luck.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
ride report and bike maintenance
Today i rode with my brother Alan both on the road and in the trails. We started off with a couple laps on the road before switching to the trails. Alan is getting really good at mountain biking, as he kept having to wait up for me whenever we hit a technical section. It wasn't until we did the easier green trails in Stillwell that are flat and mostly dirt trails free of obstacles that I was able to put some distance on him.
I learned that my Mavic Kysrium SL's are not the best 'cross wheelset, (at least not for singletrack trail riding), as i hit something that caused the front wheel to go out of true, and the bike did not track corners well at all for the rest of the afternoon. This has only further reinforced my belief that my mavic cxp 33 wheelset is the best one to take on Bike and Builde, as they can take alot of abuse.
After emerging from the woods with our dirty machines, it was time to clean them. Here I witnessed Alan performing the cardinal sin of bike maintenance, which was taking a hose to clean off the bike. NEVER CLEAN A BIKE WITH A GARDEN HOSE. Bikes in general don't like getting wet, but shooting water at certain area's of the bike like bearings and headsets, shortens the life of the bike and components by many years. Mechanics on the protour may use powerwashers to clean the entire team's bikes for those nasty European classic races in the spring, but they wind up replacing bottom brackets every two weeks, which are not in most people's budgets.
You clean a bike to prolong the life of components, not to shorten them.
To clean a bike, all you need is an old tshirt and maybe a little soapy water for hard to clean areas. Nothing short of meticulous hand cleaning keeps the bike in as good shape. (Ocassionally I'll hit the frame up with proline bike cleaner to give it some shine) I take pride in the fact my bikes are always clean and well maintained, as they run smoother and look a whole lot nicer.
I learned that my Mavic Kysrium SL's are not the best 'cross wheelset, (at least not for singletrack trail riding), as i hit something that caused the front wheel to go out of true, and the bike did not track corners well at all for the rest of the afternoon. This has only further reinforced my belief that my mavic cxp 33 wheelset is the best one to take on Bike and Builde, as they can take alot of abuse.
After emerging from the woods with our dirty machines, it was time to clean them. Here I witnessed Alan performing the cardinal sin of bike maintenance, which was taking a hose to clean off the bike. NEVER CLEAN A BIKE WITH A GARDEN HOSE. Bikes in general don't like getting wet, but shooting water at certain area's of the bike like bearings and headsets, shortens the life of the bike and components by many years. Mechanics on the protour may use powerwashers to clean the entire team's bikes for those nasty European classic races in the spring, but they wind up replacing bottom brackets every two weeks, which are not in most people's budgets.
You clean a bike to prolong the life of components, not to shorten them.
To clean a bike, all you need is an old tshirt and maybe a little soapy water for hard to clean areas. Nothing short of meticulous hand cleaning keeps the bike in as good shape. (Ocassionally I'll hit the frame up with proline bike cleaner to give it some shine) I take pride in the fact my bikes are always clean and well maintained, as they run smoother and look a whole lot nicer.
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