New Year.  Old Roads.

I went out to ride what used to be my traditional Kissena Sunday Ride.  Low road to Piermont, climb around the west side of Tallman Mountain, then up Mountainview, down Christian Herald, over to Rockland Lake, a lap of the Lake, then 9W mostly home.

There were some groups out there.  Not many and all but one were smaller than 6 riders.  There was a pack hanging out just outside the Rockleigh course.  

Missed you all.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4601186496

Wish I was there!

Couldn't figure out the wind direction today.  When I left my place, it seemed to be coming from the south.  But then it was coming from the west and the north and the west and the south and the north.  

https://www.strava.com/activities/4638639703

Headed to Shirly Chisolm again yesterday , wind crazy on the way home 
Saw @RobertMullen Flying on Saturday after a loop around the rockaways , if that's a slow covid recovery , wow !

OAC ystrdy up to tarrytown, via queens / randall's island / van cortland park. patches of soupy mud but great traction everywhere else and so much fun. and windy. i usually ride it there and back rather than xing the hudson...

Mark Taylor said: 

Headed to Shirly Chisolm again yesterday , wind crazy on the way home 
Saw @RobertMullen Flying on Saturday after a loop around the rockaways , if that's a slow covid recovery , wow !

Haha that tailwind on the belt parkway was crazy! 

Bloody cold out there 

Because this looked like a day when the mercury wouldn't break 32f, I decided to figure out a way to to a flattish ride.  I took one of my regular wormholes and made a point of trying to take the flatter way around some of the longer hills.

Didn't work.  I still ended up with 4385' of climbing.  At least most of the hills weren't long or steep.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4676522721

Yesterday, my hands were sweaty, so I decided to go with a slightly heavier base layer and thinner gloves for a longer ride in slightly cooler temperatures.

Mistake.  As I was riding back through Bronxville and having trouble moving the three lower fingers on each hand, I was hoping this wasn't the moment to get a flat.  I didn't.  And I decided to ball my fingers into fists inside the gloves one hand at a time just as the road conditions got worse.  Made it through that as well.

Decided to go up Westchester way, taking the Trailway up to Pleasantville.  too much ice on the path, so gave up on that at the north edge of Yonkers.  So it was roads most of the way.  Quiet.  Pleasant, save for stiff, cold fingers.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4714466323

I had plans this week. PLANS. But you know, life happened so I put them on hold.

As consolation, I decided to do a test run around the neighborhood on my fake cyclocross bike, just in case it started snowing. Feeling spicy, I decided to have some fun riding on a grassy median and promptly punctured because my PSI was too low and the frozen ground too pokey. Patched up the tube, pumped up the tires to ridiculous levels and figured, what the hey, let's check out Cunningham. It was the first time I headed into the woods in... 2 or 3 years at least. Without the pressure of keeping up with anyone and a nearly completely empty trail, I had a pretty good time! I did 4 or 5 loops and recorded a few of them on the GoPro. I tried some of the less easy trails in the last loop, but alas, the GoPro's battery died. Convenient.

Looking forward to riding in dirt again, hopefully with you all.

Just like my skills off-road, I'm am equally as terrible with video and editing. I ended up recording at a 4k 12fps setting which looked so bad. I cracked open iMovie for the first time in my life and discovered the wonderful world of pre-set filters.

To top it off I added in a cover of Invisible Touch I recorded remotely with my "dad band" during the pandemic last year.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/PI0wHeQgIuE

^this is beyond hotness. This is MEGA

sweet!

Yesterday, I thought it would be snowing today, so I ventured out for a three-hour ride--the forecast suggested precipitation before sundown.

At about the halfway point, my rear derailleur cable snapped.  Alas.  I rode the 11 for a few miles trying to weigh my options.  Decided I should see if I could turn the limit screw enough to give me the 12, because, you know that would be so much easier.

Turns out my Crank Brothers tool has a philips head screwdriver that is too big for the limit screw.  Just as I was giving up on jamming a branch into the derailleur to keep it in the 12, I saw some guy riding on the next road.  I jumped on my bike and chased him down--going the wrong direction.  He had a multi-tool with a flathead screwdriver.  It did the trick.  Much thanks to him.  And now I've forgotten his name.

So, in total, I think it was three miles in the 38x11, and 24 in the 12, though to be fair, I did occasionally get into the 52x12 on the downhills.  

And it did start hailing or something in Washington Heights. 

https://www.strava.com/activities/4788899140

While I was grinding away in the 12, I assumed I'd have to re-cable the derailleurs--new housing as well.  And that means new tape, too.  I had been hoping to ride t through the muck of February and do the re-cabling at the start of March.  Alas.  But when I got home, I saw that the cable head had fallen out of the Brifter, and all I needed was a spare cable for the moment.  Which I did.  and meant I was ready to ride today.

Today, I wanted to keep it to three hours, and keep it relatively flat, because it was still below freezing.  Rode up 9W for the first time in a few months, went out to the end of the Pier, and started heading back.

In Sparkill, I ran into a guy I used to do Sunday rides with outside of Philadelphia when I was in college (probably how I got into the mileage habit). I had last seen him a few years ago spectating at Bound Brook and that had been the first time in ages.  Now he's in Teaneck.  We rode side-by-side for 45 minutes, chatting, though I think we were moving decently.  Only when I got to Englewood, I realized I was ahead of schedule and since it felt a good bit warmer, I did a few rides up and down the ridge before heading for the Bridge and home.     

https://www.strava.com/activities/4788899140

Great to be out in the sunshine 

Not exactly 'solo' as I ran into @Eloy today on Zwift. Not quite the same joy as finding a friend in the park, but I'll take it. Also, bumble bee jersey!

Got out for two rides this weekend.

Saturday's was in CP as the GWB was closed.  

As I was entering at 110th and CPW, a guy followed me in.  Introduced himself, Nathan, wearing a "good guys" jersey and sporting 50mm deep Rovals with race tires on, said a few pleasantries, then muttered something about training and accelerated just enough to get ahead of me, but not enough to get away.  Didn't know what to make of this, but as he was offering up hand signals, I figured he was expecting me to follow, which I did from 2-3 bike lengths behind, and off to the side when possible.  There was quite a bit of moving around and braking: lots of people walking on the road, sometimes four across.  Nathan passed some cyclist atop Cat's Paw, and the guy put in a big acceleration to get on Nathan's wheel, which I let him do.  Then I followed him by two bike lengths.  When we got to 110berg, the guy got out of the saddle, put in a few hard strokes, and then blew up.  It was kind of funny to watch--I've said hello to this person probably four times in the past few weeks, and he has yet to say anything back.  

Back to the two of us.  After me following by 1.5 laps, I offered to take over, which I did for the next 1.5 laps--me choosing how we passed people and offering up hand signals when I was moving left or right of slowing, and me being the person talking/cajoling/yelling at the people doing dangerous things.  At 110berg, starting lap four, Nathan came up to me, said he was starting to cook, this was his hardest effort of the year and he was recovering from Covid, which he got in October.  So I led for the next lap.  He pulled alongside at 110berg, thanked me for the help, and pulled the plug.

To be fair to Nathan, I could see I was putting in the kind of effort that would be a bit more than sitting in at a I/II/III park race, kind of race tempo.  And though it hadn't been my initial intention, I probably did up the pace by a few watts when I took over.  And I was getting a bit tired as well.  I had originally told myself that I'd pull the plug at the top of 110berg anyways.  

But...I was still feeling kind of decent, so I did roll back the effort, but not by much, for another lap and went home, covered in salt and happy.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4827343029 

Sunday was almost eventless.  The GWB was closed still, so I rode up to Tarrytown on Broadway, considered rolling the dice by crossing the Tappan Zee and trying my luck at the GWB on the way home, thought better of it, tried a new road for me up in Briarcliff Manor, and rolled home.

Saw maybe five cyclists the whole day.  

The roads were much drier today.  But still very salty.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4827343453

And the GWB is still closed.  Made the right decision.

This was looking like a messy weekend.  I was hoping to figure out a way to ride outside both days without spending the entirety of both rides in the rain.

Saturday, I waited until 1 and went out for a bit over two hours.  The pea soup fog was incredible rolling over the GWB.  I went to river road.  Clear.  Came out and descended to Closter to see if I could get out of the fog.  That did it.  And the sun came out at the end.  Nice ride, but covered in dirt.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4868319599

Today, I wanted to get out at 10.  Ended up being after 11.  By the time I crossed into Jersey, the rain had started.  But just.  I rode to Englewood Cliffs, then Tenafly, waiting for the rain to come down hard.  It didn't.  But it was picking up.  So I headed back.  

Once in NYC, it wasn't raining any harder, so I figured I had some more time left.  Went to CP.  Did two repeats on 110berg.  On my way to a third, I saw Malcolmson taking the 102nd cutoff.  I turned around and rode with him.  By the time we were at the south end of CP, it was actually raining.  He made it back up to 102nd and then I went home.

I changed cables and housing for my shifters this week, put on new tape and a new chain.  Sad to have so much mess so soon.  But it's still shifting great and looking sharp.  

Not exactly a weekend, but I wanted to let y'all know that the Tobay Beach to Captree bike path extension on Long Island has finally opened. I rode it today. Nicely paved bike trail with some nice views. If you can get out here, it is an easy way to get some milage or do intervals without having to deal with traffic and intersections. I went in the afternoon and was racing the quickly fading day light, but in warmer weather it would be fun to stop at one of the beaches and even take in a quick swim.

The extension ends up being about 14 miles from Jones beach to Captree. If you start from Cedar Creek Park it adds another 5 miles. You can also ride to the West End Beaches (albeit partially on the boardwalk so at endurance pace) for extra milage. All in all there are plenty of bike path miles to take in. No hills to speak of, but the wind can either get you flying or hurting.

By the way, I know that some have ridden out to Cedar Creek park (Wantagh) from Brooklyn via the the Belt Parkway bike path (or whatever that is called) and can connect to this bike path as well. Might be worth a sunny weekend morning ride.

Here is my starva route. I knew I was going to have limited daylight so I started at the Jones Beach Theater. Had this been open Super Bowl weekend it would have been an efficient way to get a solo 100 miler under your belt. 
 
https://www.strava.com/activities/4896700746

So good to get back out on the trails
Cunningham was awesome muddy fun

Started out later than usual.  Still got in the requisite hours.

Fairly uneventful.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4909877879

First weekend of a month in MI a got in a super fun gravel ride. Roads around central MI farmland are fast.

Was rooting around in my parent's basement, found my old etch-a-sketch, hooked it up to Strava with magic, and made this route:

https://www.strava.com/activities/4909968019

Totally looks like Etch-a-sketch!

Went chasing white roads on Sunday - I'm always pleased when I ride up here:

https://www.strava.com/activities/4909757997

Cunningham, the gift that keeps on giving

Took a loop around the Rockaway which ended up as an out and back, because the cross bay bridge walkway was closed due to high winds ,
strange to see a large group(over10) of Veselka guys
hard 60 k in the wind

Mark I passed by the same cart and then through the back stretch that was littered with old bagels. Good times. I may head back out for another evening ride today.

Edit: Late afternoon ride, I was getting more confident, passing through the pump track a few times at the amusement of the actual pump track riders hanging out. During my last run the trails ate my not-meant-for-off-road-20-straight-pull-spokes front wheel and I ate some dirt. Luckily I crashed ight next to Oceana and hiked up the hill to the road to asses the damage - 2 broken spokes. Wrapped them around surviving ones, opened up the canti brakes and hobbled back home. 

Good times!

It was a year ago today that I did my last group ride.  When we were rolling out on Hudson Terrace, Patrick said 'this is going to be the last group ride for a long time...hospitals are filling up in Italy and we're a bit behind them.  It wouldn't be right to do a group ride and have to send someone to the hospital...'

Didn't realize "a long time" would be over a year.

Alas.

In honor of that day, I went out and did the traditional.  low road to Bradley, then Mountainview, then Rockland Lake, and back, largely on 9W.  Added a few detours to put in some more climbing, most notably climbing Bradley-Tweed back to 9W.  5'k climbing for the day.

Not many people out there.  I was hoping for my usual chase down riders on 9W.  Instead, I ended up trying to drop wheel suckers.  Picked up the first guy just before the market.  He was going a good bit slower than me, but accelerated onto my wheel.  I think I dropped him halfway up state line.  But another guy had latched on just before that.  He stayed in my draft, coming by me just after the scout camp.  And shortly thereafter, started slowing down.  didn't get in his draft.  Passed him after a minute.  He passed me again just after the golf course in Tenafly.  Then he slowed down more quickly.  Passed him in about 30 seconds.  He got back into my draft again, And came by again on the rise after the Tenafly light. and slowed down even faster.  I think I finally dropped him shortly after the gas station in Englewood cliffs.

The tailwind might have been the reason.  I made it back from the far point in rockland lake to the GWB in about 1:15.  Way ahead of schedule, I did a lap in CP before coming home.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4947960830

I am visiting my recently vaccinated folks for the first time a little while and taking advantage of the warm weather and dried out trails! Rode the manorville hills trails and connected the less notable Eastport trails. 30mi and 3.2k feet has me pretty tired. I ended up being over dressed and welcomed it with open, sweaty arms

Gorgeous day out, hope you spent it outdoors. I went round and round cunningham for 2 hours, seeing the pump track guys slowly and deliberately move earth to build some sweet looking ramps, crossing paths with local hikers traipsing through the leaves, silently cheering on parents riding with their small children through the single track, giving direction to a new rider asking me how to get to the pump track, and avoiding lots and lots of squirrels and birds chasing each other and chirping and being loud and boisterous. I slid out twice on muddy hairpins, landing softly in the mud and laughed at how unremarkable falling off you bike and onto mud going 5mph is as opposed to tarmac at 20mph and tried my hand at rolling over some of the log obstacles, succeeding a few times, failing more times, having fun regardless.

I can't wait to ride with you all soon.

55 degrees or more here today; I left middle kid at a beach playdate and ducked up the shore for a quick windy spin. Found a kid & her mom selling girl scout cookies if you're wondering what the corner is inside my jacket...