Vermont to Switzerland
Two snaps from last week. Met dear friends in town at Flatbread for dinner and enjoyed a lovely evening ride home, taking in the sunset on the Bak.
Playing with some Nitto Moustache bars on the Surly. Not sure if I like them – I need to get them up and away a bit – the only stem I have that fits is too short and too shallow.
Our Sunday ride group was dispersed this last weekend – so I took off solo on the Surly to retrace a previous ride. I’ve been enjoying the fixed gear bike around town- and my longest ride to date has been about 32 miles – so I decided to test the fit and my legs for a century. I explored a relatively flat route along the Winooski River from Burlington through Colchester, Essex Junction, Richmond, Waterbury and Middlesex. I’ve ridden parts of this on a previous Sunday morning ride with the IF – the terrain is tame – but there are steep rollers on the quiet country and dirt roads – some approaching 10% – but a few easily clearing 12%.
As I left Waterbury I noted the ‘bridge closed’ signs along Rt. 2 and hoped to be able to cross as a pedestrian. No such luck, as the highway department has taken care to make it a formidable obstacle to cross.
I had planned on a detour off of Rt. 2 nearby – and luckily the unnamed road (Lover’s Lane, according to Google) was just to the right of the bridge – so up some steep dirt and gravel and I discovered a lovely abandoned bridge over a ravine. A kayaker was playing in the rapids way down below – running through, rolling, then inching his way back up the side to do it over again.
I had to walk up the other side spinning out the rear tire while climbing the very steep loose sand and dirt road. The road connected me to 100b which rolls into Middlesex where I resupplied at the general store. I debated riding on to Montpelier, again following some quiet dirt roads – but guessed at my mileage and figured I was already halfway through a century.
I retraced my steps home – not seeing another cyclist until Richmond – which is a popular starting place for GMBC club racers as well as the summer tourists. I negotiated Rt. 2 and 117 in the heat – stopping in Essex Junction for another burst of sports drink, a reload on water, and a snack.
I rigged the Surly much as I would for a 300k – as I’m getting comfortable with the weight and the gear I’ll be taking on my ADK adventure in just over a month. I still have much climbing work to do – I’m hoping to do an intense 2 weeks of hills and then back off and taper for the big day. I’ll most likely be on the IF for the 300k – but I will give the Surly another shot at a century in much hillier terrain before I decide on which steed will carry me through the mountains. I’m currently running 42×16 which has been working well for rolling and mixed terrain. If needed I could remount the Surly Dinglecog and have a 42×17 and 42×19 option for a climby long distance ride.
The fit on the Surly also needs some work. By the numbers it is really close to the IF – but I’ve been riding the IF without gloves and had a successful century last week – on the Surly I had numb and tingling hands only 15 miles into the ride. I packed my riding gloves as insurance and wore them the balance of the ride – they worked – but I have come to like ‘naked hands’. This week I swapped around to an adjustable stem and will play with my bars. The one difference that might come into play is that the width of the bars on the Surly is 44cm and the width on the IF is 46cm – can that 2 cm in width be numbing my hands? Or is it the Cane Creek brake levers vs. the Campy Ergos? Or the gel padded bar tape on the Surly vs. the leather on the IF?
I did have a successful ‘street shorts’ century. I’m wearing Ex-Officio boxer briefs and my old Cannondale touring shorts – no chamois for me – and with the B17 I was comfy the ride through.
Saturday in Burlington – a ride to the Farmer’s Market followed by lunch at Flatbread with family and friends. Goodness all around. (I love the new Ergo carrier for the little one… its well crafted and comfortable – more comfortable than the Bjorn, and I can put the little one on my hip or my back – and a bit more functional than my minimalist Karma sling, which I absolutely love for when I don’t need to be working with 2 hands.)
In August the family will be traveling to Cleveland, Ohio for a family reunion / party / bonfire of sorts. I’ve been scheming to get a long, self supported brevet under my belt this year. To break up the trip from Burlington we plan to stop at my in-laws in Utica, NY. The distance is about 193 miles – perfect for a 300k. The plan is for me to ride the distance, with Jen leaving Burlington later in the afternoon and meeting me mid route. If all goes well I’ll arrive in Utica for a late late dinner, and the following day we’ll car top the bike and head off to Cleveland.
The route follows the shore of Lake Champlain (along much of the bikeway route) and then heads into the heart of the Adirondack Park in New York, traveling through the mountains and following Route 8 most of the way to the Utica suburbs. The terrain will be a challenge – the route gets progressively more difficult as the ride goes on – there is a fair bit of climbing as I leave the ‘flatlands’ of the Champlain Valley and climb into the mountains. The tentative plan is that Jen will meet me somewhere near Speculator, NY for lunch and re-supply. This will also give me the option to sag the balance of the trip if I have mechanical, weather, or bodily reasons to abandon.
Most of the route finding is complete, as we’ve driven a similar route many many times. I’m planning to take a day connecting some quieter country roads around Utica when we are in town to run the Boilermaker (eek! just 15 days away!) – and I have a few roads to scout in NY after I cross Lake Champlain. There are few options for the majority of the miles in the Adirondacks – Route 8 seems the safest and most scenic option. This ride will start early on a weekday morning – so I shouldn’t have to worry about tourist traffic in the mountains.
While this will not be an official brevet or permanent, I plan on riding it as such and researching and coordinating the route for a future registration. Seeing as we make the trip to Utica several times a year, and to Cleveland at least once a year – this would be a great way to combine training and work towards and R-12 award. Now to get my 200k and 300k local permanents registered so I have options that start and end out my door!
I rode my first century in quite a long while this past weekend. The Sunday morning crew was down to 2 – so Patrick and I took off north to the Champlain Islands. We stopped for breakfast on North Hero and made our way to Rouses Point, NY through Plattsburgh and to the Port Kent ferry back to Burlington. We kept our average speed fairly high (for our social sunday long rides) – and coming out of Plattsburgh tried to race to make a ferry. Wind, a bit of terrain (the route to this point was fairly flat) and more wind (we dodged thunderstorms all day) took its toll. When it looked like we would miss our boat we eased up and settled into a steady ‘finish the ride’ pace.
This was a shakedown ride for me – so I carried everything that I’m planning to take on the ‘OneWay300k’ that I have planned for August. The 300k will take me to Utica, NY from Burlington, VT by way of the Adirondacks. Rain cape, extra layers, food, maps, tool kit, mini first aid kit, extra shorts, digicam, etc… I brought along everything except my dyno lights which I need to re-wire and remount to my newly replaced Schmidt hub. Patrick was riding the Kogswell, fixed. I’ve debated building an ENO hubbed wheel for the IF – I’m going to try a long fixed ride on the Surly this coming weekend before I change anything. To be honest, even when I was beat at the end of the ride I tended to hang out in 3-4 cogs while in my large ring.
My experiment of riding a century in ‘street’ shorts almost worked – I tried wearing some touring style shorts and some breathable boxer briefs – I hit my limit at about 75 miles when the seams started to fight it out with my saddle. I’m not sure if it was the combination of the fabric and the wet wet morning – but part of the problem with street clothes is the shape of the Selle An-Atomica at the nose. The leather flares a bit and does not drop vertically like on the most Brooks’ I’ve ridden. As weight is applied to the saddle the flare increases – driving the edge of the leather into the inner part of my thighs. This happens with cycling shorts and street clothes. I love the saddle for the comfort on my rear end – but the front end is much more sensitive! Upon return I pulled the Selle An-Atomica off the bike again. I’ve remounted my well worn Brooks Swallow and I’ll try the experiment yet again with a slightly different wardrobe and see how it works out. The Brooks is a great long distance saddle – but I tend to bruise on my sit bones – something that has not happened with the leather ‘suspension’ An-Atomica – but I’ll take sit bone bruises at distances over 100 miles to raw rubbed thighs.
I see this fellow all over town. Lately he has been in full regalia – wig, banners, etc. I’m curious if he is paid staff for the Nader campaign – he’s everywhere – and always out. His latest banner when tabling on Church Street (without the wig and the bike) read “A vote for Obama is a vote for McCain”. I saw a small crowd around him debating and arguing. Is he in it for change? or to be the center of attention? Does Ralph know that this gent appears unsafe at any speed?
The Burligton Department of Public Works has scheduled a meeting at the North Ave. Alliance Church at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, June 24 regarding the 127 / North Ave. Slip Ramp closure. It is vital to our neighborhood that the slip ramp be closed and the intersection with North Ave. be redesigned.
The current study configuration is far from perfect – but it is a huge improvement from the original. The original interstate style configuration had traffic merging from a 50 mph road onto a busy commercial and residential street. Repeated attempts to calm traffic with an ever lowering speed limit have not helped – as peds had to cross an essentially blind ramp with no way to stop traffic. Bikes heading north had to cross this merging traffic to get to the right side of the road. This was while watching oncoming left turning traffic and looking over your shoulder to watch for traffic hitting the street at 40-45 mph (on a slow day).
With a new configuration bikes heading north (a popular commuting route) will have a real chance of getting through the intersection as traffic now must make a 90 degree turn (this significantly slows the speed of exiting cars) and forces drivers to look at the road as they turn. Peds now have a control button to stop all traffic to allow them to cross. The Ward 4/7 NPA, Local Motion, the Burlington Bike Council, and the local AARP all support closing the slip ramp and working to make this intersection safer for cyclists and pedestrians – as well as traffic that is flowing at the posted speed of the street.
GoogleMap of the intersection (this is the original configuration, prior to the DPW scoping study closure):
View Larger Map
Come out and support the closing of the slip ramp!
In other news – we have a stretch of new pavement on North Ave. Smoooooth. Lane paint went in this week.
Wonderful trip into town today amidst a softly falling rain. The smell of spring is wonderful. The Carradice rain cape kept me dry, and Ava stayed snuggled in the Clarijs cover. We took a short detour to cross the Winooski bridge a have a peak at the Adirondacks.
BMT: 196
Utility Miles (non Bakfiets): 49
Other Miles: 236
Mamafiets got out on the bak this week – it was her first test ride with cargo. We toured the parking lot at local park, then ventured downtown to the Earth Clock and back home. We also had our first trip in a serious rain – my Carradice rain cape worked perfectly – and I found a bit of room to keep my newly rebuilt Schmidt dynohub wheel out of the weather.
I’ve been riding with a small group on Sunday mornings – we usually roll by 7am and explore lower traffic roads. We are a motley bunch – our bikes change depending on the ride and the weather – I’ve been out on the IF and on the Surly riding fixed – my ride partners have had a Kogswell (650b, fixed or with and 8sp hub), 2 different Raleigh conversions (1 with Albatross bars and 8sp hub, the other fixed), and an A Homer Hilson.
This past weekend I stitched together a route that was 70% dirt roads – ~84 miles with 3800 feet of climbing, most of the grades on the dirt between 7-9% with several topping out at 13%. Wonderful views of Camel’s Hump, Mount Mansfield, and the Adirondacks.
The route is part of my mapping for a few RUSA permanents I’m working on. At the suggestion of my ride mates I may turn this into a Populaire – and stitch parts of it into my 200k route.
Total Utility Miles for April: 247 of which 196 were BMT (bakfiets miles traveled – all but 8 with our little one along for the ride)
Other bike mileage: 261
The Burlington Book Mobile – our library book transporting, errand running, child toting, sport utility vehicle.