BikePhilly!!

We rode in the third annual BikePhilly for the third year and had a great time. We met up with Denine early on but she rode with the fast riders and we stuck with the "leisurely" riders. We met Terry in that group but separated from her almost at the chaotic beginning of the ride. It seems like everything conspired to make sure Annie and I rode by ourselves, as usual. We were slowed a bit going through the city by a fire truck that interrupted the otherwise car-free ride. there seemed to be more of the city blocked off to cars and the ride through town was really nice, though I find it nerve wracking because of the crowds and the novice riders,not to mention the obviously not novice riders speeding by as if they were in the Tour de France. Once we exited the city streets and entered the Fairmount Park area I relaxed and we had a great ride.

This year, for the first time, we rode the 35 mile ride. After the rest stop in Fairmount Park we exited into traffic. The ride took us the Oak Park, Merion, and other places in the near Main Line. Lovely riding and not too much traffic. We were certainly not among the first, but not among the last either...yet. When we arrived at the next rest stop past Merion we had a nice break for food, water, facilities and conversation. As we turned to leave we found our bikes had fallen and The front wheel of Annie's bike had become wedged so that the handle bars were stuck facing the wrong way!I actually can't quite explain what happened. But there was a repair tent set up so we just walked it over there. Unfortunately we were fourth in line and the mechanic, a lovely guy, really took his time with each person, explaining what the problem was and how they could avoid it next time etc. He was actually very nice but by the time he got to me I must have waited some 20 minutes. The "repair" took about 2 seconds and we were on our way but I'm sure we were now among the very last on the ride. We negotiated the cue sheet ourselves successfully, there was no one in sight to follow, and we made it back to the start safely and happy. We spent a little time at the finish line festival, picked up our T shirts from Sarah of the Bicycle Coalition and headed home. All in all a great morning! thank you Bicycle Coalition.

Annie and Denine at the start!

Sarah at the end.

The Mechanics Tent

Rest stop

The Long Shadow of Autumn

The first week of September is gone and our mileage continues to build. We rode a good deal this weekend but the long shadow of autumn is upon us and the time for riding more than a loop, and even that, is dwindling. With the Fall holidays all falling on weekends and with my weekday schedule hitting full steam ahead this week, riding will diminish and blogging even more so. In fact, since I can't seem to find much of interest to say these days, I am planning a blog hiatus. I will leave the blog page up because of what I think are the many interesting links it may provide some people, especially novices. And I may write from time to time. I will try to keep the mileage chart updated, but that's about it for regular posts for now. I will write next after BikePhilly and then take an indefinite break. I will thank you all for your interest then.

The End Of Summer

Rode a brisk 13.5 loop today plus a couple of extra miles doing errands to end August with just over 429 miles. My year to date total is, as expected, way down from the previous two years. Riding tomorrow should put me over the two thousand mark for the year. Still not too shabby, I guess.

It was cold this morning. Well, I guess 62 degrees isn't cold, but it sure felt different. We were dressed in long sleeves and the unmistakable reality of summer's end and autumn's approach was in the air. I'm sure there will be plenty of hot days yet to come, but the change is coming. As I may have mentioned, we are already using lights in the morning when we go out.

A week from Sunday is Bike Philly. It will be the first and only organized ride that we've done this season. Strange, after so many rides the past two years. But it has been that kind of year. I'm looking forward to it.

Tough Day - Late Ride

I officiated at a funeral for a 24 year old man who took his own life. It was a long and draining day. I did not ride this morning having been out working too late last night to get up early. So after the funeral I came home and changed and rode 22 therapeutic miles. I actually didn't ride well. My legs felt sluggish. Maybe tired, maybe not used to riding late in the day, maybe the heat; but the ride felt great.

Catching Up

The summer heat and humidity has been here for real this past week and I love it. Annie and I continue to ride regularly but nothing out of the ordinary so I haven't felt much like blogging. We had a great ride Sunday morning and then drove to New York to visit our kids. We spent some time walking through Central Park and I got a nice photo of the pedicabs at work, but lost it. We rode Monday and Tuesday as usual
but I took Wednesday, traditionally my long ride day, off. Didn't get on the bike at all. I really needed the break and felt much better. Yesterday and today my riding was much stronger and faster.

While we were in NY on Sunday the annual Lancaster Covered Bridge Metric Century was going on. We've done that ride the last two years but chose not to this year for a bunch of reasons. Sadly this week I read the following article.

Bicyclist Killed During Ride Through Rural Pa.
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) ― A cyclist participating in a bicycle club ride died after a collision in Lancaster County.

Lancaster Bicycle Club spokesman Ed Gower says the crash happened about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday during the club's Covered Bridge Metric Century Ride.

Police would not release the victim's name or any information about the incident.

Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said the 60-year-old man died of traumatic head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gower said 4,100 riders participated in Sunday's 63-mile ride. Now in its 31st year, the ride winds through some of the county's rural areas and passes through six covered bridges.

A real shame.Later articles explained that the man lost control of his bike on a descent and went over some kind of embankment.

Hope the weather holds for the weekend. Lots of rain predicted.

Bikeways Meeting

An off day riding-wise. Even though it is Wednesday, my usual day for a long ride, other obligations interfered. And Annie was home, which she usually is not on Wednesday. So we were up early and did our usual loop together.

But tonight I am writing from a public hearing about the proposed Center City Bikeway plan - to replace one lane of car traffic on Spruce and Pine streets with a generous bike lane. The meeting is just getting started, so more later.

Later: A great presentation by the city with theusual strident responses by those against on the one side and those for on the other. Either way the city is going ahead and then we'll see.

Long Ride To Nowhere

I rode close to 50 miles today, though when I went out I hadn't really intended to. Reports continued to suggest that parts of the trail to Valley Forge were still in a state of disrepair from Sunday's storm and I didn't want to deal with it. So I just went around the loop and kept going and going. I only stopped briefly at Logan Hall for a cliff bar and to refill my water bottle after loop 3. This photo was taken near the end of loop 4 when my foot was hurting and I took another break. I sat at a picnic table for 10 minutes or so surrounded by the geese. Not exciting but a decent way to work off my stress.