Broken Chain

So where am I?

With 4 months to go, I have had a very strange spring.

Horrible weather and a bunch of travelling in April and May kept me off the road a lot.

A medical issue in early June set me back a bit but I got in a great ride in Israel (up Ramat Raziel and Nes Harim with Zev) in mid-June.  Then, a terrible stomach bug hit; probably food poisoning on my flight back from Israel.  Three full days and 7 pounds later, I weighed 115 pounds and had no energy.  A complete lost week and a a very weak following week.  I could barely do 30 miles on the North Shore.  Finally, the Sunday before last, I was able to do 50 strong miles and on Friday morning I really pounded out a 27 mile round trip to Point Lookout; one of my fastest times.

Yesterday, I set out for the North Shore again with my sights on a 60 mile ride.  My plan was to do a modified version of the Mansion Ride, adding three climbs and subtracting a bunch of flatter terrain.  I was strong for 30 miles and was headed to Beacon Hill when - snap - my chain broke.  Very long story short, I miraculously found someone to give me  a lift back to my car (I was about as far away from where I parked as I was all day).  I brought the bike in to discover that not only was my chain messed up but my cassette needed to be replaced as well.

This is frustrating since I replaced them both last year in the beginning of August; it just doesn't seem normal to go through a cassette so quickly; it's not like I rode 5,000 miles this year.  And, replacing a Dura Ace cassette ain't cheap.  Uggh.

So, my bike is in the repair shop for a few days.  Back on the spin bike until then.  And, on Sunday, 70 miles on the Gold Coast ride.

I'm Back for More

The 12th Alyn Ride is going to be in the North this year.  It was just confirmed that it will start at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, just south of Beit She'an.  I'm really excited about this because during my sophomore year abroad I spent a week at Sde Eliyahu picking rimonim (pomegranites).  That was, *sigh*, more than 36 years ago!  I haven't been back since.  I can't even imagine what the place looks like now.

What I remember about Sde Eliyahu is that we woke up around 4 am and worked till around noon.  Then we had lunch and spent the rest of the day in the pool.  Sde Eliyahu is in the Beit She'an valley, about 200 meters below sea level.  It's pretty hot.  I think the term of art is, "it's hot as hell."

I will post more about the Ride in the coming days.  The one other thing I know is that the Challenge riders will be climbing Mt. Hermon, something I've never done (and chickened out of doing in 2005).