Heat Wave

Today is the first nice day in weeks. It's been a brutal summer and my riding over the past few weeks has, consequently, been done in intense heat and humidity. Yesterday's ride was a perfect example.

It was probably already in the mid 80's with very high humidity when I started my ride at 6:45. (I did 55 miles and 2600 feet at a pace of 16.5 mph. I burned about 2700 calories.). It must have hit the mid 90's by the time I was done. nevertheless, I had a pretty strong and comfortable ride.

Anticipating the heat, on Saturday night, I poured a bottle of powerade into an ice cube mold and froze two bottles of water. Before my ride, I poured the ice cubes into my Camelbak, mixed my Hammer Nutrition powder into one of the bottles of water (which had thawed a bit), and caged the other bottle of ice water. The Powerade stayed reasonably cold for 26 miles where I refiled at a Hess Express with new, cold Gatorade. I used the other bottle of water to spill over my head from time to time just to cool down a bit. I also refreshed my water at the Hess station.

With about six miles to go I had run out of water in my spare bottle (but had plenty of Powerade left to drink). In Brookville, I saw a powerful lawn sprinkler whose sprinkler heads came all the way out to the street. I stopped, refilled my bottle with the sprinkler water, poured it over my head, and refilled again. In less than a minute, I was on my way again, refreshed.

You have to do what you have to do to keep cool. The challenge in the Negev will be that there will be no iced Powerade and, much more seriously, virtually no shade. With all the heat and humidity this summer, most of my rides are done in shady areas so the sun is not beating down on me.

On my way home (in my car), I stopped at a Seven Eleven for the Breakfast of Champions...a Coke Slurpee and a Drake's Devil Dog. It doesn't get any better.

Three Months to Go

The ride starts three months from tomorrow. So where do I stand?

I've put in over 1,100 miles on my bike since April (including what I did in Israel in June which, technically, wasn't on my bike). I've also done a bunch of spinning, mostly on my own. (Since the spin classes available in my 'hood are generally "suburbs classes", even when I do go to spin classes, I often do my own thing which, no doubt, drives the instructors crazy. But, sorry, I'm just not into 4-count "jumps" or spending half the class in a standing run).

I've been riding fairly strongly and feel pretty good about my climbing. I'm not worried about my endurance; I can ride forever, even in the heat. I'm not worried about any of the climbs in the south except Maale Akrabim. I'm just not sure that with my current gearing (50-34; 12-27) I can mash my way through the incredibly steep initial section of the 32 switchback climb (but I don't really want to go to the expense of changing my gearing just to deal with a mile or so of climbing). I'm worried about driving through the wind on my own should I get dropped by the other Challenge riders (and, with it, the humiliation of possibly being picked up by the SAG van).

One other thing that worries me is my weight. I am down to about 119 pounds, a level I last saw in tenth grade. While it's true that I'm burning a lot of calories, I'm also eating pretty well but haven't been able to even sustain my weight. At this rate I will be over 12 pounds lighter than my weight at the start of any of my previous Alyn Rides. In theory, this is good for climbing; I'm just worried about losing a lot of weight on the ride and not having the strength to make it through the five days. I'm really at a loss as to what to do.

So, my plan is to continue doing long Sunday rides and start doing more hard spinning (in lieu of more-or-less useless rides out to Point Lookout). And eating. As much as I can.

Wind and Rain

It was exteremley humid this morning as I headed out for a quick ride to Point Lookout. The wind was weird. Going out to the Atlantic Beach Bridge was challenging as I faced a pretty stiff wind that seemed to be headed eastward.

Strangely, when I crossed the bridge and headed east to Point Lookout, I did not feel a strong tailwind (at least not the kind that takes you over 20 mph without much effort). But, when I turned back around at the tip of Point Lookout, there was the headwind again, very strong.

And then came the rain. Just as I hit Long Beach, the sky opened up and soaked me. It only lasted a few minutes but it was enough to get me wet from head to toe (especially toe). I got home as fast as I could (but did, of course, stop off at Toddys for a muffin), peeled off my wet kit, and took a nice hot shower.

Gold Coast

Every once in a while, a plan works out well. Today was such a day.

The Gold Coast Ride, which I've done a few times, starts in Huntington. But it has always passed right through Syosset, where I usually begin my Sunday rides. Last week, I noticed that the fresh marking for the Gold Coast once again came right through Syosset. I checked last year's ride and noted that Berry Hill Road was at mile 63 of the ride and that there were approximately ten miles from there until the end of the ride back in Huntington.

Since I am always looking for ways to save time, I decided to start my ride from the LIRR station in Syosset, do the first ten miles on my own, register at Huntington, and end the ride back in Syosset. This way, I was able to start my ride at 6:30 rather than 7.

The day was warm even at 6:30, but I knocked out the first 10.5 miles pretty quickly. I was able to register, make a quick pit stop and get back on my bike in about ten minutes. I hammered the first part of the ride, riding with a group for a while and following a couple for most of the way until the first rest stop, at mile 20 (30 for me). In trying to keep up with the couple, I probably pushed a bit hard since my heart rate pushed 180 a few times.

I spent just a few minutes at the rest stop, loaded up with some nasty water (from a hose), and went on my way. I rode most of this section on my own and kept a steady pace. I climbed the short but steep (12 percent grade) hill up to Sea Cliff and then motored back down the other way.

Then. I had an inspiration. By my calculations, the next rest stop was about three miles away (at mile 48 (58 for me). Rather than go there (and wait on line for a port-o-san and hose water), I decided to stop instead at a beach parking lot at the bottom of the hill that had it's own bathroom. After a quick pit stop, I poured some water over my head, and replaced my horrible hose water with ice cold bottled water that I got from a vending machine.

I bypassed the next rest stop and finished the last 20 miles without event. The cold water couldn't have hurt because I felt very strong despite the modest but steady climbing that took up much of the last section. I was glad I did the first ten miles at 6:30, because doing them at high noon would certainly have been more difficult. I love it when a plan comes together.

I finished the 74.68 miles in 4:52 (4:38 moving time) for an average speed of 15.3/16.1. I climbed 4038 feet. My average heart rate was 156 and my high was 181. I burned 3676 calories.
All in all, not a bad day. I will not be invited to join a professional team any time soon, but not bad for a 55 year old piker.

July 4th Weekend of Riding

From Friday to this morning, I put in about 140 miles.

I did Point Lookout Friday and this morning (55 total), 33 on Sunday and 52 on Monday.

I would have done more on Sunday but was taking one of my old foster kids to the Yankee game (more on that later). Knowing that I could only ride for a couple of hours, I hammered the ride and never stopped.

(I then spent 5 hours in the 95 degree sun at Yankee Stadium. I spent about $40 on water and lemonade and kept pouring ice down my back and water over my head. Mathew had a good time but remind me never to agree to take him to a day game in July or August).

On Monday, I did a modified version of the Mansion Ride. I climbed about 2600 feet over 52 miles and only stopped once for a few minutes after the descent from the hill at Sea Cliff. Despite the high temperatures, I didn't feel hot during the ride (I was finished by 10:10) but was incredibly overheated for the next few hours despite a cold shower and taking in ridiculous amounts of fluids. I didn't feel normal until around 6 p.m.

This morning, starting at 5:55, I bombed the flat Point Lookout ride. I happened to run into a couple of my friends along the way and they rode with me for a while. Today was one of those rare days where there was virtually no wind either way and I was lucky with most of the traffic lights so I was able to round trip in 1:35, probably a record for me. Average HR was 154 so I was pounding it pretty hard.

Again, I didn't sweat much or feel particularly hot during the ride but was very uncomfortable during my 15 minute walk from Penn Station to work. I have a fan blowing on me as I write.

All in all, a pretty productive and fun weekend of riding.

Scary thought: The temperature could be like this (and was in 2004) during the Alyn Ride, even though it's in late October. Yikes.

Sunday Morning at Dunkin' Donuts

I try to daven (pray) in a minyan every morning.

And, for many reasons, I also like to ride my bike very early.

Luckily, a local synagogue has what's known as a Vasikin Minyan. In the summer, that Minyan begins at right around 5 am allowing me to achieve both of the above-noted goals.

This Sunday, I got up an extra 15 minutes early in order to have time to go to Dunkin' Donuts and get a big iced coffee and a egg and cheese croissant (for after my ride).

I got to the store at 4:46 a.m. assuming that I'd have plenty of time to get to the minyan which started, that day, at 5:04. Not an unreasonable assumption.

Wrong!

The store was full of people who, evidently, were on their way home from their Saturday night revelry. The only types of people who were not in full supply were Dunkin' Donuts employees.

Directly in front of me were three not-small woman (in the horizontal sense of the word) dressed in their very revealing finest. While they were certainly revealing much more than I personally wished to see, I digress. After they finally ordered their sweetened (not-with-Splenda) tea, donuts and bagels with cream cheese, I found myself running late. I did not even have time to order the sandwich, instead opting for a donut.

At least I got my iced coffee.

Memo to self: When it comes to Dunkin' Donuts on Sunday mornings, remember that one man's ceiling is another man's floor.

On Getting Hit By A Car

As the post below demonstrates, if you ride enough, it is likely to happen one day, That is, getting hit by a car. You try to minimize the chances as much as possible but, sadly, it is not entirely in your hands.

So, I ride with a rear flasher always, wear bright colors and reflector strips on my ankle, try to start my rides VERY early in the morning, and stay away, as much as possible, from dangerous roads.

Nevertheless.

My day came almost exactly five years ago, on July 29, 2005. And it was entirely my fault.

I was riding out to Point Lookout, about a 28 mile round trip from my house. I rode down Central Avenue rather than 878 to (ironically) avoid traffic. I was going around 20 mph when I approached the traffic light at Central and Rockaway Turnpike. The light was red so I slowed down, looked both ways, and continued riding, still against the light.

Except the road wasn't clear. I don't know how I missed it but I did. At the last second I saw it. A white car, about to hit me. He slammed on his brakes and swerved to his left. I slammed on mine and instinctively veered to the right. I braced for the impact.

Boom!

His passenger-side mirror rammed into my handle bars and were sheared right of his car. Remarkably, I didn't even fall. I was literally in the same upright position I would have been in had I simply stopped for the light (albeit facing north rather than west).

The driver, shaking, pulled over and came to see if I was ok. It didn't look like I had so much as a scratch! (It turned out that I, indeed, had a nasty welt on my side). I assured him that I was fine. I asked him if HE was ok and he said, yes, just very worried. I told him it was my fault and apologized for riding carelessly.

He picked up the mirror, hopped in the car, and drove off.

I then assessed the situation, My bike was a little mangled but much less than I would have thought. The handlebars were way out of allignment but I was able to fix them with a quick adjustment. Amazingly, the bike was usable.

Rather than go home like a normal person, I decided to finish my ride.

POSTSCRIPT.

The next day, I ran into an acquaintance who was driving on Rockaway Turnpike and saw the entire thing. He told me that he saw the car swerve to the left at the last second, and saw me get hit by the mirror, bounce off the car and land upright. He said it was the darndest thing he ever saw (and that I should be VERY grateful to G-d).

That episode had a profound effect in many ways, including, especially, how I ride. I can't believe how careless I was and how lucky I was to survive. I try never to forget that incident.