Chasing cycling legends

Tuesday March 20: No spin class. Rode to work. Rode home 9.2 miles with av. speed of 13.8 mph.
Wednesday March 21: Rode to work. 9.2 miles, 28.4 max. Rode on the Trek.
Thursday March 22: Rode to spin class at the JCC, went to spin class with Andrew, rode home
Friday: Off day. Rode to Panera
Saturday: Rode 24.4 miles to Wenham and back. Ride time 1:48:00, 13.6 av. Rode on the steel Allez, max speed of 29, personal record on the bypass 1:54, av. speed of 24.5, 16th overall according to Strava. Met up with Lynda B.

I rode around Wenham and Beverly and managed to find Lynda B. after breakfast with the Cyclopaths at Beverly Airport. She, Steve Bob and I looped around Wenham on Larch Row, then headed toward Route 127 back to the bridge. While it was not a big challenge for Lynda, I was amazed that I arrived at the airport in time to meet up with the group after a frustrating morning trying to get my daughter at the passport. The U.S. Postal Service offers passports, but not at a time when it is convenient or possible for two working parents to get one for their children.

Hey Bill, Hey Dick, wait up!

On the way back on Lafayette Street I a saw two cyclists who looked like Bill Hamilton and Dick Tapply!

But they had already turned up Lafayette Street and I was waiting for the light to change by the Fire Department. I gave chase but they were way to fast. Halfway up Lafayette Hill, I gave up. I was on my heavy steel frame and I could not catch them. I headed down Humphrey Street and there they were, having looped around Old Salem Road. I caught up to them and yelled their names, but then I wasn't sure if I was mistaken. So I backed off. Now I will never know. Dick, Bill, if it was you, you looked in great form!

Tempo chain drop and recovery

March 13: Commute 11.4 miles to work
March 15:Spin class
March 17: Last ski runs at Shawnee Peak for the season
March 18: 24.1 miles around Nahant and Marblehead, 14.6 mph average
March 19: 9 miles commute home

I was finally able to get out and do somewhat of a tempo ride to Nahant. The causeway is entirely chewed up, so I had to ride the walking path. Needless to say, I soft-pedaled that, which was OK. I finally got out on the Trek, and it was fun to be able to let loose.

One stupid thing I did was to try and time trial the Causeway at the end of the ride into a head wind just 20 minutes before I had to pick up my daughter from Temple. Sure, I shaved three seconds off my best time, but I nearly wiped out two cyclists on the curve. Then, there was not enough time to make it around the Neck. I'm also finding it strange that all my favorite rides are mapped out and now I have to beat the clock all over the place with Strava. I've got to not take this Strava thing to seriously.

Chain dropped, chain recovered

On the commute home on the Ayube Bypass, I had the greatest chain recovery ever. My chain hopped off the big ring as I flew down the bridge. I wasn't racing, I was trying not to spin out the small chainring. Now, this is the bypass, and stopping in the middle of it was not an option. At 21 mph, the chain was dangling off my crank. So I backpedaled a little, popped the front derailleur, and pedaled the chain back on the front cog. I had never done that before. The thought of getting off my bike on the bypass scared the bejeebers out of me. That tip on how to recover your chain from Bicycling magazine made the subscription all these years worth it.

Stringing it together

Rode 14.1 miles around Marblehead on the Allez, personal best on the Ocean Ave. Causeway at 1 minute, 1:01:37, average speed 13.7 mph
Rode home from work on the Allez, 10.2 miles, average 13.5 mph. 2:06 mph on the Bypass TT at average speed of 221.1 mph. Total ride time 45:31
Rode to spin class at 5:40 a.m. Daylight Saving Time. Getting set to commute to work.

Somehow, I've managed to string several rides together. I squeezed a ride in late Saturday morning, then did the same thing on Sunday, before the weather got warm. Yesterday, despite it getting dark and a frustrating day at work, I rode home. Glad I did so, too.

The frustrating part about my rides is someone has created these segments in the Strava Cycling app. Now, whenever I ride home on the bypass or on the Ocean Avenue Causeway, I have to book it as fast as I can. Not sure if I like the idea. Maybe I should just leave the iPhone off.

Snow ride and Sea Glass Ride update

Saturday, March 10 16.9 miles around Marblehead and Swampscott on the Allez. 1:13:11, 13.4 mph average, 26.4 mph max speed
OK. I signed up for MSGLOBAL 2012, and I signed up to climb the Hill. I better ride, even if it's 40 out and it snowed this morning. And, it wasn't a bad ride. The worst part was ripping the stem out of the tube while pumping up the front tire.

Sea Glass Ride update

Tentative date is Sunday Aug. 26.
Tentative start would be Temple Shirat Hayam in Swampscott.
While Nahant was a great start last year, and we had the run of Kelley Greens golf club, logistically it proved a challenge. The extra miles also proved hard for many. The August start will allow riders plenty of time to train. Many will have already logged plenty of miles in their legs. The weekend does not appear to conflict with any local charity rides. Please write me a comment if you have any ideas about the date, start location or if you want to volunteer to help. We need volunteers and sponsors! The ride's website is being updated, too. Thank you to Mike Sperling of Sperling Interactive for hosting our site. The ride benefits the Sue de Vries Cancer Foundation and its free wellness programs at the Mass General/North Shore Cancer Center in Danvers, Mass.

I hit the wall

Friday, Feb. 24Jogged Phillips Beach
Saturday, Feb. 25 Skied Shawnee Peak
Tuesday, Feb. 28 Spin class with Margie, 493 calories burned
Thursday, March 1 Spin class with Andrew, 490 calories burned
Friday, March 2 16.1 miles around Marblehead on steel frame Allez, time 1:20:08, average 12.1 mph, maximum speed is 25.8 mph. Strava segments: 18th on Causeway segment at 1:10, Marblehead Neck, 2.9 mile loop in 19:09, rank 20th
Saturday, March 3 About 16 miles around Marblehead on the Allez. Improved time on Causeway to 1:03 mph and 17th overall at a speed of 22.3 mph.
Sunday, March 4 Rode and swam at the JCC for 1/2 hour.
Spin class on March 6 and March 8
Sunday morning, Feb. 19, I competed in the norovirus Olympics, a 12-hour hug the porcelain god marathon during which I could hold nothing down. That threw me for a loop and I'm still not feeling right from it.
I finally got back to being active with a jog on Phillips Beach and spin classes, but I still feel like I'm not 100 percent. I'm also finding that it's getting harder and harder to get a ride in. Today, I rode a couple of miles to the JCC for spin class and back. I rode on my commuter bike. Because I need my car at work, I can't even commute to work. I just don't understand how I'm going to train. There just seems like there is no time to ride. Today, I was going to ride home, but it was too blustery. It was 64 degrees, but I spent the whole day at work or running around with no chance to ride. How I'm going to make it up that Hill is beyond me.
Fundraising for MS Global is going well, but I'm still not at my goal. If you want to support cutting edged research into a cure for multiple sclerosis, check out my Firstgiving website. I added a bunch of facts about the Accelerated Cure Project of Waltham. Your donation will not be wasted by this nonprofit.