making the kessel run in under 12 parsecs

Remember that cranky post about sweeping rides? I swept again yesterday, and then today I went out for a slow eight miles with The Excellent Wife. Riding with her is fun, and undoubtedly good for my marriage, but it doesn't do a thing for my riding ego.

Today, we're heading up to the in-laws' for Father's Day (when you have an 88-year-old father in law who is as cool as mine, it's pretty much a command performance that you appear). That means I don't want to risk a group ride, and possibly not getting back in time... so I did my Coppermine Loop today.

Average 19.5 mph, 20 miles in under 1:02, including going up Coppermine.

I intend to be insufferably prideful today

(In other news, I really needed it. I've been cranky and suspicious recently, and a good blowout attack ride like that helped to blow some of the ghosts out of my machinery.)

Althought Laura OLPH and the gang were doing a century today, I had agreed with The Excellent Wife (TEW) that we could go out with some friends this afternoon, so I did Ira's ride out of Cranbury in order to be home in time. I've been in the habit of going to Bagel Street in Plainsboro for a morning bagel-with-a-schmear, then riding in to the park in Cranbury, but I wondered if I was courting a ticket or a tow by leaving the car in the lot. I found that fellow Freewheeler Cliff H had an office in the buildings next door, and he was closed on Saturdays for the summer, so I parked outside his office... and not three minutes later, up he drives with his bike on the roof rack! So we rode in to Cranbury together.



There we met Ira and the eighteen-or-so who started on the ride to Phil's on a route with which was unfamiliar (meaning I was even more lost than I usually am). A beautiful, clear day, warm but dry. A bit breezy, but I don't remember difficult headwinds.  I haven't seen some of these folks to talk to in months, and it was pleasant getting back in contact (and pleasant to sweep such a large ride; a ride this big needs a sweep). On the way to Phil's, Giorgio took a shortcut (but met us there); as we were leaving, another rider had a flat and told us to proceed.



I had several chances to speak to Cliff on this ride (I do not know him well), and afterwards, he took me on a bit of a loop so we could top 50 miles (that's the loop up above Dey road to Broadway. Broadway? Here in farm country? Are you serious? Oh, please.). It turns out that our ages are a year apart and our birthdays are two days apart; he suggested that we do birthday rides in future (and I like the idea). He thought he would plan to ride his age in miles forever, or as long as he could.



I told him, "Shoot for forever."

king of the mountain

Some of my fellow riders use Strava to compare ride performance (and I've started to look at my progress there). Many also use MapMyRide, primaily to set up courses.
It turns out MapMyRide is planning to compete with Strava. From the article:

The main difference users will see between Courses and Strava is that the MapMyFitness version goes beyond ranking times up climbs and awarding King of the Mountain designations accordingly; it uses a points-based system, meaning the rider with the most trips up the local climb could be the highest-ranked rider on the climb, without logging the single fastest time. Virtual polka dots come with consistency, in this case.

In the interests of accuracy, I should probalby do accounts at both and compare... but I probalby won't. (This was sent by Dave H - and Dave, if YOU set up accounts at both and compare, I'd be interested in your feedback.)

more likely to die on your birthday?

"Birthday Blues" Confirmed: You Are More Likely to Die On Your Birthday Compared to Any Other Day.

From the article:

The new study also found that the likelihood of someone dying on their birthday also increased with age, with the probability rising to 18 percent in people over the age of 60...

Researchers also found that, among men, there was a 34.9 percent increase in suicides, a 28.5 percent increase in accidental deaths and 44 percent rise in deaths from falls on birthdays.

Great. Just great. "What do you want for your birthday, honey?" "Oh, just to get through it alive..."

bloomsbury boogie ride pics

Ed C got me his pics from the Bloomsbury Boogie ride:

Leader Winter Larry en le maillot jaune:



Rick, Sean, and co-leader Laura OLPH having a garden party outside the Bloomsbury rest stop:



There were two bridge crossings, and I've got them confused, I'm sure, so these are just pictures of folks crossing bridges. Rick:



John & Jane (good picture of them, don't you think?):



Laura OLPH:



Gathering in (I think) Milford:



Views of the river:







One of the many great views:



Some guy who was tagging along:

more neat gadgetry

Dave C forwards me the weekly email from Gizmag every now and then, and I pot the stuff that catches my fancy, especially if it's bicycle-related. One of these is, one is more motorcycle-related, and one I just thought was cool, perhaps because two of my nephews were into the skateboard culture in the past.



The first is this Gnarboard, a 3.4kW electric skateboard. It's got enough power to do the cool stuff that skateboarders want to do. At $6100, it's probably beyond the means of many of the semi-outlaw teen skateboarders who might want one... but it's cool. Too cool for me, I'm sure; I'd never be able to balance on it.

Now the bicycle thng: I'm a sucker for bike tools, especially cool bike tools. And this is a cool concept:

It's a bike mini-tool that stores inside the handlebars. It includes a number of the standard hex wrenches that seem ot work everything on a modern bicycle. It doesn't include a chain tool or spoke wrench, as far as I can see... but it might allow you to use a smaller seat bag, or eliminate it completely. Check it out.



A motorized mono-wheel, from 1910. Enough said.

bloomsbury boogie vids

Laura OLPH has vids up! Check 'em out on her post (new tab, natch).

bloomsbury boogie

Winter Larry (who led this ride along with Laura OLPH) described today's Bloomsbury Boogie as his favorite ride, and I might be inclined to agree. It was beautiful, long enough, with demanding (but not exhausting) ascents, whippy descents (sometimes terrifying - one rider got up to 51mph - but a little terror is not always a bad thing), a multi-mile flat, some sprints, a paceline in Pennsylvania, and (best for me) a ride along River Road in Hunterdon County above Riegelsville, my favorite road to ride in NJ - not because of hills or speed, but because it's a taste of "vacation on a bike" at 16-17 mph.

Ten started: Larry, and Laura (who co-led), Laura's friend Sean,  John D & Jane C, Ed C (photographer on the Tour de Franklin), Peter (whom I know a little), Rick, and Bob (I think; I never met either of these last two before today). We started at Mine Brook Park in Flemington (just behind the outlet malls! Everybody can find those, right?), and went right into a fairly demanding climb, then to a fairly flat bit, before we split into two groups (apparently a failure in communication, or map-reading, or something: Larry thought there would be a tough ascent on the route that Laura led; she said there was none. I went with Laura). We did have a white-knuckle descent (with traffic, and a dogleg about 2/3 the way down) into Bloomsbury and the first rest stop. After the rest stop, Bob decided he had other things to do and left us, so the nine of us continued and finished.  Climbing out of Bloomsbury (which is apparently in a bowl) was nowhere near as tough as the road in would have suggested (although Laura did suggest that she might lead the Hill Slugs up that way sometime in the future...)

Then to the Delaware and a trip down River Road (but I've already waxed rhapsodic about River Road on that ride you would have hated. I feel lucky to have gone down it twice in three months). Across the Delaware (on foot, playing hell with our average times) at Riegelsville, and down the Pennsylvania side in a paceline (traffic at our elbows - and weren't ALL the motorcycles out today!) to a second rest stop at Upper Black Eddy, where we can look at the canal on the Pennsylvania side (and can we please get going before my legs stiffen up again?), then back over a bridge to Jersey (walking again...) to cover some more hills. One of the final hills before we stopped had more than a 17% grade - Jane stopped to check (I could tell it was steep; my front wheel wanted to come up).

Back at the stop, John and Jane pulled out beers (and a bottle of water that I could take). It was a great day. I loved this ride. Thanks to you both, Larry and Laura.

Ed C and Laura got pictures. I'll steal 'em link to 'em if I get the chance.

short ride from hamilton ymca

I saw in the list that Chris C was leading a 40-mile B+ ride from the Hamilton Y today. I know Chris wouldn't allow things to get too out-of hand- so I drove way down there, only to find a number of things:

• The Y was a beehive of activity, with buses pulling up, and excited young people in all colors of matching t-shirts shouting, applauding, and cheering;
• ... so that thee was apparently an inter-camp competition of some description. this suggested that the lot in which I'd parked was not really available. I looked around, and found...
• ...the Freewheelers parked OUTSIDE the fence (they quickly told me I should move). When I parked again...
• ... I learned that Chris would not be coming today.

So instead, I went along with ride captain Sue M on a 35-mile B-paced ride. A 35-mile ride is shorter than I wanted to do, but I'm planning to do a long, hilly ride tomorrow, so maybe it's better that I didn't burn up today.

Eight riders, including yours truly; the only one whose name I know is Sue, although there was another I've seen ride out of Cranbury. A quiet group; I think I was the most conversational (and maybe the most irritating; for all I know, they relish the silence). Mostly flat, as rides in that area are, but very pretty; horse farms, old towns, and estates on which I won't be able to afford to retire. I got a couple of good sprints in, including one on the way to Phil's where I was trying to catch up to a (much) younger lady who does triathlons.

At Phil's, we were met by Ira S's Cranbury riders, and I got a lesson in the use of Strava.Com from Dave H (he sent me the story about the treadmill bike last week). I looked at it when I first signed up, but there's apparently more to it; I'll have to go back and visit again (I haven't done so yet).

One rider deserves a mention, even though I didn't get his name. He was riding a Giant hybrid, with an upright position, a suspended fork, and fat, knobby tires. And he (mostly) kept up with the group, even though my pace was 16.8mph, and another rider's pace was over 17mph. We were talking about how he was going to do better if he ever got a road bike (he undoubtedly will), and I said I thought his bringing that hybrid on a B ride was like racing in a minivan. He was like the Energizer Bunny; he just kept going and going....

OK. We'll save the B+ ride for another day.

pedal power pics

Go look at this page for wonderful pictures of bicycles - all kinds, in all kinds of uses, throughout the world.

I got it from the Rivendell Bike Blog. You should be checking them out, too.

what i did on my summer vacation

The niece graduated from high school this year, so The Excellent Wife (TEW) and I bundled into the car, along with all our hot-weather gear, and drove for two days down to Daytona, Florida. We got to stay in a condo owned by her sister's family, with a view of the intracoastal waterway:

Who goes TO Florida in JUNE, for heaven's sake? Sheesh, it was hot, and it rained part of every day. TEW and I would get up early and walk the mile-or-so to the Starbucks for internet access, then walk back; we'd get back before 9:00 am, and it was already above 90°. On the drive back home, we were laughing with joy when we were chilly in the morning.

We redeemed some pleasure by eating every day at this place on a pier:
It's called Crabby Joe's, and it reminds me of the place that Spongebob Squarepants flips crabby patties. The food was great; the prices low, and "casual" doesn't begin to describe the atmosphere.

Some pics from the graduation. Here's the grad and her brother:
The grandparents:
(They're Polish immigrants, with about 11 years of formal education between 'em. All four of their daughters have college degrees and more, and they own three houses. Good story, eh?)

The nephews, sons of the in-laws at whose condo we stayed:
In the picture below, the gal in the middle is the mother of the boys above:
This below, with Dzadziu (Polish for "grandpa"), is a suspected boyfriend... but we're not sure.
And here's the grad and her mom:
So what did you do on your vacation?

more cycle weirdness

Dave H (not Dave C) sent me a link to this bit of whimsy:

From the site:

When the weather's nice, the last place you want to be is cooped up in some stuffy gym. Imagine running through evergreen forests or strolling down country roads. All of this is possible thanks to the rugged design and all terrain tires on the revolutionary Treadmill Bike.

Not for nothin', but why do you need to be running "through evergreen forests..."? What's wrong with riding there? Or if you want to be running... why not just run?

I just don't get this one. Thanks to Dave for forwarding; it's a prime example of a design whose time may not EVER come - at least for me.