First Week Round-Up

It has been a good week of riding. I started out feeling pretty slow. I felt like one of the old men riding around the loop. Actually I am one of the old men riding around the loop, but when I can ride mostly at 14 mph and dance up the hills and inclines I don't feel like one of the old men. This week I couldn't do that after not riding for most of the last four months. Because of holiday scheduling my first five rides could be started in the morning light,which really helped. By yesterday, back on regular schedule actually felt good. I was up at 4:45 and out at 5:40 and finally, near the end of the ride felt closer to normal. Starting out on the weekend with the drives closed to traffic also helped.I thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a break day soon and this morning the weather accommodated. It is raining and instead of riding I'm blogging. All told I've put on about 85 miles this week and took off about 2 pounds. Not bad for the first week of the season. Since I've missed three months of the new year I'm not making any predictions about my total mileage this year, but I will try to track it anyway.

I still haven't had time to stop and take any pictures, but when I can I will snap one of the new span of the South Street Bridge. Yes, the span is up, which was a pleasant sight my first day out.

Springing Back To Life

The winter just ended was a killer. It was the first winter that stopped me cycling since I began some four years ago. I was already slowing down in November and December, finding myself unable to battle the cold as I'd done in previous years. then the first of three substantial snow falls fell in late December and I didn't get out on the road from then until about two weeks ago when we had a sudden warm-up that didn't last. But the last few days have been real spring and while there may still be some temperature fluctuation it feels like we're back in business.

Despite putting on a bit of weight and losing some stamina, the break wasn't so bad. My enthusiasm needed a rest. And not blogging also gave me a chance to escape the feeling of deadline pressure that I'd created for myself. It feels good to be back.

I wish I had a good photo to illustrate this weekend's riding. It was the first weekend that the West River Drive was closed to cars and it was really great being out, though after Friday's weather I had expected it to be a little warmer.

And I wish that I could report that Annie and I rode the loop (not ready for a double loop yet) together.. But alas in the intervening months since winter sidelined us Annie's knees have deteriorated to the point that see requires replacements. She will be having both knees replaced a week from tomorrow and will, obviously not be riding with me for some months. We are hoping she will be back on the bike, better than ever, by July. In fact, we may register for the New York Bike Clubs Hudson Valley ride on August 22 and make it our goal to get her back by then.

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.

The Hazards Of City Riding

With summer weather finally here we had a lovely morning ride...except for the realization that it is already getting darker when we leave the house a few minutes before 6 AM! Not quite needing lights yet, but I can see the day coming and I'm not happy.

Switched to the Brompton for a day riding around the city. Only as I prepared to come home did I notice that a friendly pigeon had left me proof of his existence on my saddle. Nobody talks much about that particular hazard of city riding.

This Time The Rain Won

It seems like we've been racing against the rain for weeks. Up until today we've been lucky, getting our various rides in before or between storms. No such luck today. We were out at 6 AM and were caught in a torrential downpour around 6:30 coming up the end of Kelly Drive, over the bridge and (then it really started to come down) along West River Drive. We were soundly soaked, but it had abated by the time we reached the museum and we continued along our way. Not so bad.

Back Home

We had a lovely and brief trip to Vermont. Mostly our attention was taken up with our grand kids and we only got to ride the one day I wrote about. Too bad, its a beautiful place to ride. We returned late last night and rode a double loop this morning along with Annie's sister who is visiting for a couple of days and brought her bike.

So with this morning's ride and a few errands on the Brompton today, I am ringing July out with over 500 miles. Not bad in this otherwise less than stellar year.

In Vermont

We woke up late on vacation schedule and went out for a later than usual ride. It was a shorter ride than usual, only 11.5 miles but we scaled some pretty impressive hills so the effort was equal or more than usual. Annie did great on the hills and I did well enough. Maybe tomorrow will go a bit farther. The scenery is magnificent. This photo doesn't do it justice (taken from the farm we are at.) I couldn't afford to stop and shoot pictures from the tops of the hills, the view that is really spectacular.

Around Town - Race Update

Strange day so far. We were up at regular time and started out for our regular ride. Annie was back on the Fuji now equipped with a new back rim and hub. By the time we reached Logan Hall Annie just didn't like the feel of the ride. Having suffered through a couple of flats last week she wasn't taking any chances. So we went home and after a bit of a break I went for a ride she headed for the bike shop for two new tires. It was time. With the little extra ride back and forth my ride was up to 18.3. Then, after some quick errands, I set out to meet a friend for lunch near U Penn on the Brompton, shown here at Cosi's. Didn't get to watch the race but have it one the DVR for this afternoon.

RACE UPDATE



In a surprising finish to stage 19 today Mark Cavendish tuned the unexpected bunch sprint at the end into his 5th stage win of this tour. He is simply unstoppable when he gets into the right position. This looked like a stage where the break-a-way would have stayed ahead and someone in the break would have won the stage. But, seemingly, because Robobank didn't get anyone into the break and wanted to set up Freire for a possible victory, they rode hard in order to reel the break in thus setting up a bunch sprint at the end. Once that happens it is almost impossible to stop Cavendish. I think he still cannot win the Green Jersey having been relegated to last place on a previous stage for bumping Thor Hushovd. Otherwise he would have won it for sure.

Lance Climbs Back

The all important "race of truth," the individual time trial at the Tour de France was won by Alberto Contador, cementing his almost certain Tour victory. Only a catastrophe over the next two days could change that. Andy Schleck has certainly shown himself to be a worthy opponent and will in all likelihood take second place on the podium in Paris. But that is not quite as certain, and even less so is" Who will be third? Bradley Wiggins, who has had an incredible and entirely unexpected tour still has a slight chance as does Astana teammate Andreas Kloden. But by riding an impressive time trial for a 37 year old returning to the sport after over 3 years, Lance Armstrong has returned to third in the overall standings and could well hold it over Mount Ventoux on Saturday. I think that would be pretty amazing.

Meanwhile, as the Astana soap-opera drags on, Lance and Johann Bruyneel will go their own way next year. It was announced today that they will ride for team Radio Shack, which will be a new American pro tour team. Where everyone else will be will be interesting to watch. Certainly Levi will go with them, but who else. Don't bet on Alberto.

I went out early and rode a double loop; a little tired after yesterday's ride, but I did fine. Today's 22+ miles made July the first over 400 mile month of the year.

Valley Forge II (updated edition)

A great ride out to Valley Forge this morning. I did not want to put up with the tow path again so I chose to take the hill on Umbria. It was a challenge but I made it. Lost a bit of time in Manayunk when I saw some friends having coffee and stopped for a chat. Lost much more time in Conshohocken when a railroad crossing guardrail had fallen across the path. Managed to move it off the path with the help of other passing riders and then took time to call SEPTA and notify them. Now writing from Valley Forge and after a bite and a break I'll head home and check in again. This is the first time I've actually posted the blog from the road. Neat.



These are the Schleck brothers. Frank won today's TDF stage with Andy right behind. They moved into second and third place in the general classification, dropping Lance to 4th and Kloden to 5th while Wiggens tumbled a bit further down. It seems that while Contador made sure to stay well ahead of Andy Schleck, his seemingly unnecessary acceleration at the end dropped his own teammates. Clearly he is as afraid of his own team as of his rivals and the dissension on team Astana is starting to matter. Still, the Schleck's are not good time trialists so the Astana contingent and Wiggens for that matter can make up time tomorrow. I think it will all come down to Mt Ventoux and there may be some real fire-works and excitement.

On Vacation - Final Week Of The Tour

Happily I plan to watch the final week of the tour in peace. Most years I actually have vacation for the entire tour, but this year it didn't work out that way and its been a bit of a challenge. But now that the tour has turned up into the Alps, with the most exciting and potentially important stages ahead, I'm happy to have the time to watch. I will DVR the races early each morning, do my regular rides and come home and watch while fast-forwarding through the commercials.



Yesterday's first mountain finish in over a week ended, as everyone should have expected, with Alberto Contador in the Yellow Jersey. My dark horse pick to win the tour, Andy Schleck couldn't quite stay with Alberto and came in about 40 seconds behind. Watching Contador accelerate in the mountains is truly amazing and it is difficult to think that anyone can defeat him. But the Alps can produce strange events and Schleck is not out of it yet. the favorite of the media, Lance Armstrong, probably is, although he too is well within striking distance if Contador proves to be human. And Bradley Wiggins has turned out to be this year's sentimental favorite, taking over from his teammate Christian Vandevelde. It could be an exciting week.

Annie and I had good riding over the weekend, nearly 50 miles all told. Today she went out early for the usual loop and I slept in on vacation schedule and then went out for a lovely 30 mile ride.

And Again....While I Take My First Long Ride

There's that picture again. That must mean that Mark Cavendish won today's Tour de France stage, his 4th which along with last year's 4 tie him for the most Tour stages won by a Brit. He is back in the Green Jersey and I wouldn't bet against his taking it home.

Meanwhile I finally got out for a long ride on a gorgeous day. Rode to Valley Forge and back. Met up (unplanned) with Jake just after passing Norristown and we rode into the park together, rested and ate together, and rode back much of the way together. He turned off to head for Forbidden Drive while I went straight through Manyunk and home. Great ride and great to have company.

There He Is Again

There he is again! Mark Cavendish won his third stage of this year's Tour De France with another blistering sprint across the finish line ahead of Tyler Ferrar and Thor Hushovd. All the talk of the tour today was about the lack of radio communication between the cyclists and their team cars as the UCI tried to roll back progress and insist on the old fashioned race conditions of yesteryear. Personally, I think its a bit silly, but the riders rode a bit slower than usual (not because of the lack of radios they say) still caught the break-away and set up an exciting sprint finish. Cavendish is electrifying to watch.

Annie's Fuji is back at the shop. The flat didn't take much to fix, though it did turn out there was glass embedded in the tire which is what caused the second flat. But she is awaiting a new wheel and hub and doesn't expect the bike back until the end of the week at the earliest. So she rode the Tiket and wasn't happy with how they tuned it. After holding it for three weeks it didn't shift right etc. It goes back to the shop tomorrow. Yikes! What luck. Still we managed to ride and get home for the first time in three days.

Flats, Rest Day And BIG NEWS

Today is the first of two rest days for the Tour De France. Good for them, good for me.

Well, my mechanical skills remain suspect. I fixed Annie's flat last night and all seemed good, bu she flatted again just as we neared the Falls Bridge. Much further along the route this time and once again I flew home (I'm guiltily getting in some good speed riding as she waits) to bring back the car to pick her up. Of course, the verdict is not in: There could have been something wrong with the tube; there could be something wrong with the tire (I did check it for anything sharp inside but still it could just be past its prime. After all, I put on new tires last year and Annie is still on the originals.); or I could have pinched the tube somehow when I put it in. We may nver know, but I'm not sanguine about changing another flat. Anyway, this time it will go to the shop. There are a couple of other issues that need to be looked into anyway. Meanwhile I managed a shortened ride of 10.9 miles.

And now for the Big News this just in from the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia's website:

Coming Soon - Bike Lanes for Spruce and Pine
Our January 10th post - Dreaming of a bike friendly Spruce and Pine presented a long talked about 'what if' scenario, especially in light of the Bicycle Coalition's documentation that bicycling in Philadelphia doubled between 2005 and 2008. Thanks to the pro-bicycle Nutter Administration, the City of Philadelphia has adopted this vision and is planning to make it a reality. Not sometime in the future, but this summer!


Our understanding is that a one way buffered bike lane will be installed in both Spruce and Pine Streets along most of their lengths, made possible by the dropping of a travel lane. Clearly, when implemented, it will be the most significant bicycle friendly improvement in busy Center City since the opening of Schuylkill River Park Trail and street level crossings in 2003. It will also be the City's first (but we hope for additional ones north of Market St.) "river to river and east-west connector" set of bicycle friendly streets.

The reduction of travel (for motor vehicles) lanes may be a concern to some, however more road space does not necessarily mean smoother traffic flow. Delivery vehicles, utility trucks and double parkers already cause Spruce and Pine to function as weaving single lane streets. A great example of less is more would be the closing of Broadway in Manhattan, which actually improved north south traffic flow by eliminating Broadway's angled cross street interference.


6 foot bike lanes with a 3 foot buffers on Spruce and Pine Streets will finally make the concept of a Center City bikeway a reality.

The project, overseen by the Mayor's Office of Transportation and carried out by the Streets Department, will be a simple and inexpensive line painting operation; construction could begin as soon as August. Over the next 9 months or so the streets will be evaluated, and if the lanes are proven to be beneficial, then permanent striping will be added when the streets are repaved in 2010.