A Fibonacci Series...

Last night, I presented a slide show of my summer tour and served a dinner (my Mum's lasagna recipe) for my cycling buddies, and their wives. 

I started by laying out the 10 Provincial highway maps on the floor, more or less "spliced" together with the entire route high-lighted. There were actually 11 maps (since Ontario is so big, and took three weeks to cross, their highway map is two-sided, one for roads west and north of Tobermory, and one for roads east and south), I could have added in the map for Minnesota since I ride about 5 miles into International Falls and back, but opted not to.

It is amazing how much floor space it took up, and gives an excellent perspective of both the enormity of the event, and the amount of North/South zig-zagging we did as we rode across the country:

• northeast from Vancouver to Calgary and across the prairies,
• southeast to Regina
• northeast to Manitoba
• southeast to the Ontario/Minnesota border,
• northeast over the top of Lake Superior,
• southeast into the heartland of Ontario,
• northeast to follow the St. Lawrence River,
• southeast to Nova Scotia, and then
• north and south up and around Cape Breton. 

That helped explain to my friends how I got to ride over 5,000 miles along the way, when the distance from LA to NYC is only 2,795 miles.... 

NOTE to 2011 prospective Trans-Continental Riders: At this time last year, the whole trip seemed daunting and difficult to comprehend - riding 85+ miles day after day, after day...  I am sure you are now, as we were at this time last year, all filled with self-doubt "What have I got myself in to?", ...  "Can I do this?", ... Looking back on things, now having completed the journey,  it seems like a normal do-able thing - no big deal... As Nike puts it "Just Do It!"

The slide show culled a little over 600 of the best photos and video clips from the roughly 4,000* I took en route. I compiled the show to provide a daily perspective, leading with a map of each day's route and miles ridden, followed by the best photos of the day. 
* That translates to approximately one photo or video for every 1.3 miles of touring.

OK so what's with the title of this Post???

The Fibonacci series is a mathematical sequence in which the next number in the sequence is equal to the sum of the previous two numbers  0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5 ,8, ... 

So, "Why on earth is Bill writing about this?" you are probably asking yourselves.

Well, the last 5 years of my annual cycling mileage have inadvertently turned out to resemble the approximation of a Fibonacci Series, and I can safely predict that unless I am drafted by a Pro Cycling team, the sequence ends on December 31st.  I didn't plan for this but it is funny how things work out.

OK so I slacked off a bit in 2009, but more than made up for it in 2010. I can safely predict the end of the series as I cannot imagine how I could ride 12,600 miles in 2011, although I am sure that Pierre-Alain, who ride from Paris to Beijing in 2008 could suggest a few ways...


As you have probably guessed by now I like measuring stuff - be it my heart rate, feet climbed, or mileage ridden.   In 2010, I rode a total of 161 days, or more than one in three.  In terms of daily mileage, here is the summary:

I am still in awe at the amazing weather I had for the year.  All in all I think we rode less than 10 days in the rain... 

In summary:

• 8,502 miles
• 2 Countries (Canada, US),
• 10 Provinces (BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PEI, NS, NL),
• 3 States (MN, NY, NJ),
• 2 Oceans (Pacific, Atlantic),
• 4 Mountain Ranges (Coastal, Monashee, Rocky, Appalachian), 
• 10 Major Rivers (Fraser, Thompson, Saskatchewan, Red, Ottawa, St. Lawrence, Richelieu, Matapedia, Mirimachi, Hudson),  
• 7 Major Bodies of Water (Juan de Fuca Strait, Lake of the Woods, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Northumberland Strait),
• 5 Major Islands (Vancouver Island, Manitoulin Island, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island, Long Island)

All in all a very memorable year.

Happy New Year to all.

Cycling Gear Review

A lot of 2011 riders have asked for veteran's views of "what to bring" as they are busy (as we were at this time last year) planning for and stocking up for the tour.  Here are my thoughts - actual results may vary - these are just my preferences, and persoectives on my gear...  other veterans may haver a completely different view.  I hope this helps in your "education."

Bike:
Specialized Roubaix Expert with Compact Crank – I was one to two riders on a Roubaix Expert on the tour, and have absolutely no regrets on it. The carbon fiber frame and fork held up extremely well despite some very rough roads, and provided a very comfortable ride. The seat (a standard Toupe, which is sized to your pelvic width) while a narrow “racing seat” was very comfortable and I had no problems with it – it did take about 3 weeks for callouses to develop on my “contact points” with the seat (two postage stamp-sized areas at the ischial tuberosity or more aptly named the “sitz bone”).
10 out of 10 - an amazingly comfortable ride for a road/race bike in a "touring" situation.

Lights:
As a habit, and after too many “encounters” with cars where the driver’s excuse was “They didn’t see me”, whenever I ride I have lights (front and rear) flashing, regardless of the time of day.
Front Light: I used an annoyingly visible (that is the main point isn’t it) Cateye HL-EL135 light. The two AA batteries lasted about 2 weeks 8 hour days of riding. Very reliable, even in the wettest conditions.
10 out of 10.
Rear Light(s): I used two Planet Bike Super Flash lights, one mounted on my helmet, and the other on the seat stay. They as well provide an annoyingly visible flashing sequence, and run on 2 AAA batteries each which lasted about 3 weeks.
10 out of 10

Wheels:
Mavic Ksyrium SL – the wheels are a racing wheel with bladed spokes which again held up well. Over the course of the trip I broke two spokes (both drive side rear). Regardless of the wheels you use, bring extra spokes, and carry them with you during the day (I stuffed mine in the main tube of my seat post rack). The little plastic spoke wrench provided by Mavic with the wheels is totally useless. I replaced it with a Park Tool Wrench made especially for Mavic Wheels after my first broken spoke. The second time a spoke broke, I was able to true the remaining spokes enough so that I could ride the remaining 40 miles into camp where I replaced the spoke and re-trued the wheel.

On the downside, this particular wheel design requires that the cassette be removed to replace a broken rear drive-side spoke. If I were buying new wheels I would opt for a similar Mavic wheel in which a rear drive-side spoke can be replaced without removing the cassette, as cassette removal is not an option unless you are at the campsite and have access to the tools in the truck.

As an added safety measure, I added 3M reflective tape (silver and the same color as the rims) on the rim between every alternate spoke nipple, and on 4 of the bladed spokes. On rainy days, you can also tell when a car is approaching from the rear as the tape on the rim of the front wheel will reflect the headlights.

Tires:
Hutchinson Tubeless Intensive – of all my choices of equipment, this was the most controversial, as I made the decision to go with a tubeless tire only two weeks before leaving for Vancouver. The decision was driven purely from a comfort perspective. Going “tubeless” allowed me to run my tires at 90 – 95 PSI as opposed to 120 PSI for tires with inner tubes. Lowering the tire pressure by 25 – 30 PSI meant that the softer tire absorbed an amazing amount of road vibrations and bumps.
Note: This is not a recommendation - you need to make your own decision on if you want to put tubeless tires on regular rims - read the disclaimer at Stan's NoTubes.
Although my rims are not “officially” approved for tubeless tires by Mavic, I have had no problems (other than what is described below) with them in 6,000 miles of riding- actual results may vary.
The only thing I had to do was to purchase a special valve stem for each wheel, and sealant (from Stan’s No Tubes). The tires can be a tight fit on the rim, so make sure you carry “tire irons”.

In theory tubeless tires will not “flat” as frequently as tubed tires, as they are filled with a messy sealant (Stan’s no tube sealant) which seals punctures. In practice, this is true – there were a couple of times where I picked up a steel wire in the tire (like a staple, but from the steel belt of a tire) and the sealant worked marvelously. We rode fairly frequently on gravel roads, crushed stone road beds with gravel, etc. In these conditions, I got a number of “sidewall” cuts, for which the sealant tried its best, but given the size of the cut, would only hold about 40 to 60 PSI of pressure in the tire, if that. In addition when “sealing” the tire sprayed out sealant onto my bike/brake calipers which made for quite the mess to clean up. That said, I never got stranded by a flat, although on some occasions, I had to put a tube in the tire to get me into camp – defeating the benefit of tubeless for that part of the ride. As well I became quite proficient at repairing sidewall cuts with a patch. Actually one patch was not enough, so I had to apply a second patch over the first to prevent “blistering”. I am not sure if this is either recommended or “standard” practice but it served me well, and allowed me to get full use out of the tires (which run about $70 each!!!).

I ended up using 4 tires over the trip – wearing out the rear tires after 2,500 miles.

If I had to do it again, despite the added hassle of going tubeless, I would do so in a heartbeat as the comfort provided was well worth it.

Pump:
Topeak Road Morph - a great little pump that is able to pump up tires to high pressure (100+psi). It attaches to the valve stem cleanly and the little "foot pad" provides a means to secure the pump when pumping.  The hose even extends a few inches for added versatility. I probably used this 10 - 15 times on the ride under all types of conditions.
8 out of 10  ease of use, pressure, etc.
If you are buying a pump, get the Road Morph G which is the same as the Road Morph, but has an added pressure guage.

Shorts (all bib shorts):
If you have never tried a “bib” short, you will not regret making the switch. They provide unparalleled comfort, eliminating the waist cinch/pinch of a regular short, as well as any potential for a “plumbers funnel” for folks following you. As well, you can tuck stuff (like Cliff Shots, etc.) in the bib for easy access on the ride. I switched over to bib shorts about 10 years ago, and would never consider going back.

Specialized BG Pro RBX - Definitely my “go to” short for the longest days of cycling, and when the temperature is in the 70°s F and above. This short proved to be the most comfortable of the four pairs that I wore - if there is anything missing from these shorts it is the addition of reflective panels.
10 out of 10 for comfort and fit

Pearl Izumi Pro Thermal Bib Knicker - Just as comfortable as the Specialized, but designed for when the temperature is below 60°F for most of the day, or for providing that added warmth when it is raining. The light thermal lining, and coverage below the knees were perfect. They have reflective panels at the front and back for added visibility on those rainy days.
10 out of 10 for comfort and fit, especially on cooler rides.

Pearl Izumi Pro Bib Short – A great short, but for some reason, I did not find them as comfortable as the Specialized. Perfect for the days when the Specialized were queued up for laundry.
8 out of 10 for comfort and fit.

Gore Xenon Bib Shorts – These are made by the bike clothing arm of the makers of Gore-tex. They are a good short, but for some reason, I did not find them as comfortable as the others in my baggage. I typically wore them when all other options were exhausted.
5 out of 10 for comfort and fit.

Bike Shoes:
Specialized Body Geometry Pro Road Shoe: My choice of shoe was driven primarily by the fact that I have wide feet with high arches, and Specialized make a shoe which fits my foot very well (comes in an EE width, and supplemental top straps to accommodate my high arches). Prior to starting out in June, I purchased some Specialized Body Geometry High Performance Footbeds – they come in three profiles and you choose the one based on your foot profile. They offer excellent support for the entire footbed, and were instrumental in making sure my feet were comfortable day after day of 85+ mile riding. They were well worth the cost (~$50), and I would not consider doing a ride of this nature without them. The only problems I had with my shoes were wear – you do a lot of walking on gravel and rough paths, and over the course of 5,000 miles you will probably, as I did, wear out the sole at the heel. That said, the shoes gave me 15,000 miles of use over the past three seasons, so they owe me nothing – I am waiting until spring to replace them and will buy this year’s equivalent model.
Update Jan. 3, 2010 - apparently I am not the first to notice the problem with the shoe heel pads wearing out - Specialized's new 2011 model of the shoe have a replaceable pad (aka "heel lug"). Kudos to their design department for recognizing a shortcoming  and addressing it!!!  My new shoes arrive in a few days :)
Update Jan. 17, 2010 - for those looking for a better fit to your bike shoes, without changing the shoe,  Sole Custom Footbeds sell a variety of moldable footbeds which offer great support.  They have a fitting tool in which you enter your profile and it recommends the best insert to meet your needs. I have used a pair of these for my hiking shoes for the past 5 years - they offer excellent support for my high arches, comfort and durability.

Pedals/Cleats:
I used a Shimano Ultegra Road Pedal with corresponding Shimano Cleat. The pedal/cleat combination worked very well providing a wide base for support and comfort. The only problem I had with the cleats was from the Saskatchewan “mud”. It seemed to collect everywhere despite my best efforts to walk on my heels. While in Saskatchewan, I had to stop a few times and scrape the mud out from the cleat so I could “click in” the pedals. Over the course of the ride I used two sets of cleats, swapping out at about 3,000 miles. As well on some of the side trips, the shoe/road cleat combination was quite treacherous - particularly the hike from the parking lot down to the pictographs at Agawa Bay on Lake Superior, on the rocky path where I ended up bare-footing it. Other than that I popped on the rubber protectors which seemed to work fairly well – except for the time one popped off when we hiked to the end of Moraine Lake and I had to walk back about ½ mile to retrieve it.

Bike Computer(s):

For the first half of the trip, up until day 45, I used a Polar 725 Heart Rate Monitor/Bike Computer. I really liked this because I could upload the day’s riding data into my computer, including a profile of the ride, and could monitor my heart rate while riding. Unfortunately, the unit was a few (4+) years old and died at or around day 45. Polar make great stuff and are #1 when it comes to heart rate monitoring, but they have a complex user interface – much like everything else, once you are used to it, it is ok. If I could do the ride over again, I would probably use a Polar RS800CX with the GPS add-on. Probably overkill on the “geek” side, but I like the idea of having a GPS sensor (Garmin) that you don’t have to charge each night.

After that I replaced it with a Bontrager 5W bike computer. It provided the basics – speed, distance, etc, but no altitude and/or heart rate. A good unit, but the buttons were a little finicky as was the magnet/sensor placement - it must be precisely adjusted or you get weird readings (unless I really was riding 75 mph up hill). It served my basic needs for the rest of the trip and I am still using it today. I did get the unit replaced by my local bike shop (Marty’s Reliable) because of the problems with the buttons. Great service considering I bought the unit in Canada, but they replaced it without question in the States.

Tools:

I brought a Park Tool CM-5 Cyclone Chain Cleaner, which was used on an almost daily basis by me or other riders – I tended to clean my chain only when it was noisy, or not shifting well. I used "Simple Green" as my chain cleaner - cheap, green, and effective and you can buy it by the gallon at Canadian Tire. For chain lube, I preferred a “dry” lube, and used ProGold ProLink Chain lube, applying a drop on each link pin, and then wiping off any excess after giving the chain a good spin to ensure that the lube penetrated into the links. I always had a bottle in my pack when riding and used it occasionally to lube the chain mid-ride.

I replaced my chain on day 46 after about 3,000 miles of riding – I brought along a replacement chain because I knew I would need to replace it at sometime along the route, and had my bike store remove the excess links before packing it – that way I just had to remove and replace, without having the mess of counting the links on the worn chain and the new chain…

One of the riders had an “old-school” Filzer Chain Wear Guage available only in Canada, which was a quick and reliable way to tell when it was time to replace the chain. I liked it so much that I bought one from MEC, along with a Filzer Casette Removal Tool, when I returned to the US.

As mentioned earlier the Park Spoke Wrench for Mavic Wheels was a must have if you have the Mavics.

Camping Gear review

As promised in an earlier blog, here is my review of the stuff I took camping - a bike gear review will follow shortly...

Tent:
Kelty Gunnison 3.1
This was the first piece of camping equipment that I bought shortly after signing up for the Tour du Canada. There was much discussion in the past and current regarding the size of the tent (1-person, 2-person, 3-person,…) you should bring. You will be spending a full summer in it, and other than schlepping it back and forth from the truck, you won’t be carrying it, so my recommendation is to go for a good 3-person tent. You won’t regret the extra room, especially on wet nights. Speaking of wet nights, the fly did a great job of keeping the tent and its contents dry on some very rainy nights, and on the occasions when the tent was packed away wet, it dried very quickly once re-pitched in the evening.

Once I got into a routine (it took about 2 times) the tent was a breeze to set up – it usually took no more than 5 minutes. The tent itself is suspended by clips from the two cross poles which clip into the opposite corners of the floor. Once assembled, the fly attached over the poles. I used a Kelty ground sheet, but you would probably be just as well off with a sheet of thick plastic from your local hardware store, cut to just under the floor size of your tent. The hardest part of erecting the tent was driving in the tent pegs at some of the campsites – a 3/16” aluminum peg has very little chance against the granite of the Canadian Shield.

The only downside of the Kelty design, that I found, was that you could not pitch the tent fly first and then attach the tent underneath it. This meant that when pitching the tent in rainy conditions, the tent and floor got wet before you could get the fly up. I was very glad I brought an extra “sham-wow” so I could mop up all the water on the tent floor, after the fly was up, and before I brought in my other gear (clothes, mattress, sleeping bag, pillow).

The tent had two “vestibules” one I used for entry/exit, and the other was where I stored my “hockey bag”.

Bottom line is if I did the tour again, I would take the same tent. On a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the best/easiest here are my ratings:

Roominess: 10
Ease to put up: 10
Storm worthiness: 8
Rainproof: 8
Durability: 10

Sleeping Bag/Mattress:
Big Agnes Mummy Bag 20°F Savery SL
Big Agnes Air Core Mummy Pad
As described in one of my very early posts, I opted for the Big Agnes Bag/mattress combination where the air mattress slips into a “pocket” on the ground-side of the sleeping bag. A great design as you never “roll off” the mattress in the middle of the night.

The 20°F bag rating was perfect for the conditions of the tour – I think the coldest night was in the mid-30°Fs in Field BC in the Rockies. On that night I was thankful for the “no-draft” collar and “no-draft” tubing along the zipper. It took a little while to get used to the Mummy as I felt a little constrained for the first few nights. On the warmer nights, the only thing I would have changes was to add a cotton or flannel liner, as the synthetic liner felt a little clammy. The bag has an integrated “pillow case” in which you can stuff clothes for a supplemental pillow.

I brought my own full sized pillow and don’t regret it, although after 10 weeks of stuffing it into a “stuff sack” every morning, the memory-foam lost its memory at the end.

With the integrated mattress, you blow up the mattress the first time, and slide it into the pocket of the sleeping bag, and never take it out again until you wash the bag. It took about 15 lungs-full to blow up the mattress, and you could easily adjust the “firmness” as desired with the valve.

The only downside here was that the mattress developed a slow leak about 6 weeks into the tour, which meant that it had to be re-inflated after about 4-5 hours.

When I got home, I contacted Big Agnes about the leak, and they replaced the mattress without hesitation, all I had to pay was shipping charges to return the defective mattress to them. Great Customer Service!!!

Bottom line is if I did the tour again, I would take the same mattress/bag set-up. On a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the best/easiest here are my ratings:

Comfort: 8
Ease to inflate: 10
Durability: 5
Warmth: 8
Customer Svce: 10

Baggage:
I would recommend two small waterproof, very durable, “Hockey-type bags” for camping gear. On the tour, you will have access to two “laundry” baskets, for in-shelf storage of clothes toiletries, etc. and bags that carry bulky stuff (camping gear) that are stored on the floor when going between camps. The bags on the floor are loaded each (by the day’s galley crew) morning just before the truck leaves, and unloaded each afternoon (by which-ever riders get into camp first.) By rugged stuff (well sewn, strong straps, if any) and waterproof material – you never know what the weather will be like before you get to camp to retrieve your bags. I started with a duffel bag with wheels that I had for a few years, but the handle loops tore the canvas within the first week. Luckily, I found a hockey arena in Salmon Arm and bought a Hockey Bag which lasted for the rest of the trip. If I had to do it over again, I would opt for two smaller bags (one for camping gear and another for sleeping bag, pillow and the evening and next day’s clothing) as it is easier to carry, and sometimes the tent sites are far away (as in 1/4 mile) from the truck.
Clothing (off-bike):

All the riders from previous years advise you well in advance that you will take too much clothing.

YOU WILL TAKE TOO MUCH CLOTHING!!!

If I were to do it again, I would try to restrict my material selection to quick-drying materials – I spent far too much time at the laundry waiting for stuff to dry after a few drying cycles. In addition if I were doing it again, I would bring two pillow-case sized “mesh-type” bags in which to put my laundry, and wash the clothes in the bags – minimizing the potential for single socks…

Bring a jacket to keep you warm and cut the wind on those nights when it is in the low-40°s to mid-60°s. I took a Patagonia Nano-Puff pull-over jacket which did a great job. It is probably the most versatile top I have. Keeps you warm when the temperature is in the 30°s and not hot when it is in the low 70°s.

Basically what you will need are:

1 pair of long pants
1 pair of shorts
1 long sleeve shirt
1 short sleeve shirt
1 warm sweat shirt
1 fleece pants
2 T-shirts
A “beanie” and a ball cap
Fleece gloves
Bathing suit
Warm Socks
Sham-wow type towel
Socks
1 pair of running shoes
1 pair of sandals

That is the "minimalist's" list (try saying that ten times quickly) you will bring more, and probably use more, but from what I can remember that is what you can get by on - oh and yes, don't forget the mosquito netting/hood/jacket unless you want involuntary blood transfusions in Ontario and Nova Scotia.

If a tree falls...

I suspect that you are all familiar with the question:
"If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Well, for the past year, I was always wondering whether my blog was "making any sound".  My postings were always done on an act of faith - that someone, somewhere "out there" was reading them.  I did get occasional feedback from fellow riders, friends and family on my postings, but other than this (which was very encouraging in and of itself) I had no real idea of the level of interest/readership my efforts were generating.

Well, today I found out through some poking around in "blogspot" that they provide a high level perspective of the number of pages which have been accessed on the blog, and the country of origin of the reader.

I am quite amazed at the results - beyond my wildest expectations...

Here they are...

Over 7,000 views - Thanks to all for your interest, support and encouragement, and have a Merry Christmas (or whatever seasonal holiday you observe) and a Happy New Year.

Ski season starts this Saturday - the weather in New Jersey has been in the mid 20°s all week so they have made tons of snow.

Cheers,

Bill

The Deathly Hallows

This weekend, Pascal (my "euro" buddy living nearby) and I opted not to do another ride in NYC, but instead to stay local and "get wet" - Pascal's description of a high energy ride which gets you sweating!

We started out early Sunday to fairly crisp temperatures (low 30°Fs - nothing like the -32°C temperatures that Kelly and Judy had in Widewater Alberta this weekend).  We didn't really have any specific route planned - well we did, but it wasn't very challenging - 40 miles of fairly flat riding with a climb at the end - but as we warmed up I felt like mixing things up. 

Sidebar:
A couple of weekends ago we ended up riding 50 miles of pain - there were five of us, and all things were going fairly mildly until I saw a guy riding a full-fairing recumbant trike on  the flats by the swamp, and felt compelled to try and catch him.  He had about a quarter mile lead on us, and with his low drag was churning out about a 30 MPH pace.  We hoofed it for 3 miles and almost got to him before he went straight and we went right. 

At that point, I described to my fellow riders the concept of "A$$][0LE T-Shirt".  I learned of it from Judy on the TdC - she said that the cyclocross riders they ride with in Alberta have given her and her daughter Pepper plenty of them.  Apparently you get one when you go off the front of a group that has been riding comfortably together, and inflict a world of hurt on the folks trying to keep up with you.  Well, once the other 4 on the ride learned of this, it seemed that at any given time everyone wanted a shirt! We ended up averaging just shy of 18 mph on a very hilly ride, and were all exhausted at the end.

Back to the Deathly Hallows...  Pascal suggested that we try something different, so I opted for a couple of nice short steep climbs (Baileys Hollow and Jockey Hollow) followed by plenty of climbs afterwards.  Once warmed up, we had a great time and burned up tons of calories in a fairly short period.  I am still coming to grips with how much my climbing has improved over the past summer - it is like being in a different world.

To help out any riders planning for future Tours du Canada, in my next blog I will be posting a critique and my perspectives on the equipment and stuff I brought along for the ride: Camping Gear, Clothing, Biking Gear, etc.  so that they can benefit from my "lessons learned".

Happy American Thanksgiving to all...

P.S. If you enjoy reading the blog, or have any questions about my experiences on the tour, please feel free to post a comment or e-mail me at wjdr2004@optonline.net

Cheers,

Bill

Higher Ground - Randolph to High Point (and back!!!)



NW New Jersey



After 13 years of living in New Jersey, and at the suggestion of Pascal, I planned a bike ride from home to High Point - the highest point in our lovely state.  Using Google Maps, I laid out a route that was 105 miles round trip that offered "bail-out" options for about a 30 mile total or a 70 mile total if you didn't feel like doing the century.

The weather was great yesterday so Pascal, Paul, Tim, Ed and I headed out at 8:00 A.M. to test out the cue sheet that I had created.  It was flat on paper (quite literally) but we knew we were in for some climbing for the day, as it crossed back and forth (and back and forth) over the three mountain ridges of the Appalachains that make up the northern part of the state.  That and the fact that we were riding to the highest point in the state!!!

  Our route looped around Lake Hopatcong, the largest lake in NJ, and then headed up north through Ogdensburg.  For rock hounds, Ogdensburg is one of the most geologically diverse areas on the globe - lots of different types of rocks and minerals. Our route took us up Sterling Mine Hill and past the Sterling Mining Museum with all the news about the miners recently freed in Chile, it would have been neat to visit, but the place was closed when we rode by.  From then we looped back west and north through some really nice farmland. 

At the 35 mile point, Paul, Tim and Ed who were under time constraints had to head back south (marked by an "L" on the map above), leaving Pascal and me to the climbs up to the State Park. "Up to" being the operative words of the day.

We had some great back roads which I found using Google Maps, although the road markings differed somewhat from the references provided by Google.  Since we were testing the "Cue Sheet" if we reached a point of ambiguity, we would take what we thought was the most probable route, and if we were wrong, cycle back to that point.

At the end of the day, our 105 mile ride turned out to be 122.3 - my longest day's ride of the year.  As well I managed to ride the toughest 1.2 mile section of road this year (including the rockies and Cape Breton Island) in the last stretch up to High Point!  Here is a profile of the grade - 18% at the steepest!!!




A true "nose scraper!!!"

  The sights from High Point were spectacular - unobstructed 360° views of New Jersey to the East and South, upstate New York to the North, and Pennsylvania to the West.  What we did not know at the time that I selected the route, was that a VW car club had set High Point as the northern point of its car rally so as we were leaving, we had to contend with "Fast and Furious - Munich Drift" literally hundreds of souped-up VW Jettas/GOLFs/Sciroccos, etc. whining along the same "quiet" country roads.

We got home around 5PM after a long day of riding, climbing, back-tracking, climbing, sightseeing, and still more climbing - all in all a fun adventure and well worth repeating - now that I have corrected the cue sheet it should be do-able in about 105 miles...

Here are some of the more memorable pictures from the day.




Morning Light




The first of many climbs.



The Garden State

Yet another climb! Great Colors...






Getting close!!!

 


Pascal wanted to go to the top!




Heading Home




The end of a long day!





Another day on the city...

Last Sunday (Sept 19th), I got to ride with my cycling pals in a "disorganized" ride they have dubbed the "Triple Bypass".  It is a follow up to their "Quadruple Bypass" from last August 1st which I missed out on because I was already booked, and somewhere along the northern shore of Lake Superior. The "Bypass" ride is named for the number of different bridges that we ride to get on and off Manhattan - the "disorganized" aspect of the ride is because we had a general view of places we wanted to visit, but no particular route in mind - we just followed our noses, and for the most part the very well marked bike lanes in NYC...

The Hudson River at 7:00 A.M.

The ride starts in Fort Lee NJ with a crossing of the Hudson River over the GWB (that is the George Washington Bridge).  At that point the Hudson is about a mile wide, and it reminds me a lot of crossing the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal.  For me, the ride started off somewhat ominously as I got a tire puncture before I made it across the bridge (in the first mile!!!) luckily the sealant in my tire stopped the leak and I didn't have to do anything other than add air.

The GWB from the Manhattan Bike Path

Our group... and my shoulder...

We then ride down the West Side Bike path, along the Hudson.  Two neat parts about riding early on a Sunday morning are the general lack of bike traffic (everyone was probably still in bed after a late night of partying in the city), and the cruise ships docking at the port to drop off passengers (there were two massive ships docking when we rode by - it was quite the impressive sight!).

Glad I don't have to park this!!!

Through lower Manhattan...

Once downtown, we headed east through the canyons of Manhattan.  The traffic was light so we made our way through Chinatown and Little Italy.  The streets of Little Italy were blocked off, with street vendors and carnival rides on either side in celebration of the Festival of San Gennaro which made for some rather interesting riding.


Our route into Brooklyn was the Williamsburg Bridge, which we learned from our NYC Century ride last weekend, was great for cyclists.  The bridge has elevated pedestrian/bike paths on either side, above the traffic.  It seems that the graffiti artists have been very busy, with each beam on the bridge "tatted" with different art.

The bike path, above the traffic, on the Williamsburg Bridge.

Bridges from Brooklyn...

Our destination in Brooklyn was a little bakery, Almondine's,  offering great flaky croissants and "pain au chocolat" - basically a croissant with a chocolate fillimg - MMMmmmmmmm! 

The bakery is tucked on a narrow street in the "DUMBO" (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) section of Brooklyn, a funky neighborhood affording great views of both the Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges,with the East River, and Manhattan as a backdrop.



Heading back.



Our ride back into the city, in my mind, ranks in the top ten as one of the most interesting "miles of riding" I have done - the wooden plank bike path along the center of the Brooklyn Bridge.  Always a pleasure, and you can't ride over it without imagining what Washington Roebling (and his father)  must have been thinking, and what it must have been like to design, plan and build the bridge to Manhattan some 127 years ago.



Ed, Dave, Paul, Me, Pascal, Peter and Marty on our way up to the High Line Park



Back up the west side, we stopped for a "photo op" of the group in the High Line Park, a newly converted section of the eleveted railway which once carried supplies and cargo from the ships in the harbor, downtown to the factories and businesses in Manhattan.  It is amazing the extent of the urban renewal, and reuse going on in the city.  Let's hear it for a very progressive city government, and great cycling advocates.

We ended the day with a couple of laps of Central Park, and a stop at the Levain Bakery on 74th and Amsterdam for one of the most mouth watering chocolate chip cookies I have ever had (click on the link to see a calorie free version of the cookie). By the time we rolled back to our cars in New Jersey, we had logged just a tad over 60 miles.

Many thanks to Ed for pulling this ride together, and suggesting the sights, and to Tim (couldn't make the ride) for germinating the "Bypass" concept and pulling off the Quadruple Bypass in August.

"20th Century" - FOX (NYC)

It has been 7 days since the final day of riding on the "tour".

During the week, after performing a much needed wash of my clothes, sleeping bag and camping gear, I reassembled my bike and brought it in to the shop to get the bolts torqued to the proper specifications.  Yesterday I rode the 20-mile Saturday Morning "Pastry" ride with added mileage (an additional 21 miles) to and from home.  The hills seem a lot flatter than they did when I last rode them in June, including the 13% half-mile climb up Union Hill on the way home.

After that warm-up, and a fitful night's sleep last night, the alarm went off at 3:45 A.M. to wake me for today's NYC Century Ride with my cycling buddies from New Jersey.  Out the door at 4:30 (at least I did not have to pack tent, sleeping bag and clothing prior to leaving) , and off to meet the guys at the shop for a 5:00 A.M. car pool into New York.  On the drive in we could see the memorial spot lights shining to to the sky at Ground Zero marking the 9th anniversary of that tragic day.  It is still hard to believe what happened, and to look at the vacant space where the World Trade Center once stood so proudly marking the southern tip of Manhattan.

The weather forecast for today called for 40% chance of rain later on in the day (or 60% chance of not rain, as I like to see things).  We arrived in the city shortly before 6:00, parked on the upper West-side, put our bikes together and rode to the northern end of Central Park to register.  The route this year was for the most part the same as in previous years but offered some new terrain through Queens, and a new route down Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge.




The Verrazanno Straits

As usual we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise and headed through the borough, blowing off the first rest stop and on to the Verrazanno Straits, at the mouth of the Hudson River.  For some reason the ride seemed to go faster than in previous years, or as Tim liked to put it "you did not ride across Canada this summer, you were just training for the NYC Century." 

Breakfast anyone???

Mmmm, Mmmm, good!

We got to Coney Island earlier than usual, so the compulsory meal of two of Nathan's World Famous Hot Dogs (one with slaw) and large Coke, was wolfed down at 8:30 A.M. - a breakfast my "tour" riders would have been proud of.

The gang outside Nathan's

Crossing the Tri-Boro.

From there we headed through Queens, and at mile 70 stopped at Tim's parents house where we were served up Meatballs in Sauce, Cantaloupe, and water - just the thing we needed since the rest stops were pitifully under provisioned.  After refueling we went through Astoria, and up and over the Tri-Boro (now RFK) bridge into the Bronx. 

Rounding the corner at the Bronx Zoo.

More route changes in the Bronx took us by the world famous Bronx Zoo.

The Harlem River in the rain.

From the northern tip of the Bronx, we rode down alongside the Harlem River and back into Manhattan finishing at around 3:00 P.M. at Central Park in a light rain.

All in all a wonderful excursion, marking my 20th "Century" (100+ miles in a day) for the year.  A great day of riding with Ben, Eric, Marty, Paul, Tim, Ed and Peter. 

I am amazed at how refreshed I felt at the end.

Note - No Altitude readings since my altimeter bit the dust during the tour.

Editor's note - this posting has been updated to reflect "only" 20 centuries ridden so far this year - I had earlier posted 25, but having had more time to go through my log book identified that I had duplicated data in the process. 



Day 71 – Ad Mare Usque Ad Mari (Argentia NL, Saint John’s NL)

Written in the Toronto Airport Sept 6, 2010 and posted from New Jersey.


I thought I’d close out the trip with the title I used to start the ride from Vancouver, the motto on Canada’s Coat of Arms which translates “From Sea to Sea”.

Another choice would have been “Failure to Launch” which described my tent on the last night of camping in Argentia. Before we went to bed, the outer edges of Hurricane Earl were making their presence known with some blustery winds.

Gone with the Wind!!!

The campsite grounds were basically 2 inches of loose gravel on what appeared to be a bed of concrete (most likely the granite of the Canadian Shield). At that point we went looking for large rocks to try and secure our guy lines and corners of our tents in preparation for what might be a wild evening. After we had finished, the site looked like the base camp at Everest.

At about 10:30 PM, the winds started to really pick up with blustering gusts of 20 – 40 MPH (my estimate based on what I felt then and what I feel when I am riding at those speeds). The large rocks we had used to secure things had been dislodged, and my tent had adopted caved in profile so I went out in my PJs with a headlamp to try and re-secure things. At one point I was holding on to my tent, which was airborne, by a single guy line, and after about 5 minutes managed to secure it around the seat of a picnic table. With that as an anchor point I then secured two other lines, one around the far leg of the table, and the other around a post near the tent. I then moved my heavy bags inside from the vestibule of the tent and onto the windward side of things to keep the floor from billowing up. That seemed to work although the whole tent was shaking, and making a tremendous noise – kind of like trying to sleep inside a wind tunnel. At around 1:00 A.M. I finally managed to “sleep” and awoke shortly before 6 AM.

The campsite, which was full of about 35 tents the night before had only about 6 or 7 still standing, the rest having been either blown apart or blown away, or moved in the middle of the night to a more sheltered space - the riders in those tents had abandoned ship, so to speak, and slept, or tried to sleep indoors, in the camp office and bathrooms. Luckily we avoided any rain and just had to put up with the high winds.

A Cloudy Start

Breakfast was an abbreviated version of the usual (no hot servings, just bread, bagels, cereal and coffee), so we were on the road at around 8 for our ride to Saint John’s. The terrain along the southern coast reminded me of that from my ride in Alaska.

Sunny Skies

Conception Bay

As you can see, today’s weather was overcast, but dry at the start and sunny and in the high 80s later on.

After the climb up Signal Hill

The ride finished with a good climb to the top of Signal Hill, to the cheers of other riders from the group who had taken a more direct route and arrived earlier.

Under the Finish Banner

We also had the family of our only rider from Newfoundland, Murray, with signs to celebrate our achievement - 5,360 total miles of riding in just over 10 weeks.

"The French Connection"

It is hard to believe that it is over, and tomorrow, the friends I have made over the past 10 weeks will be heading back to their respective homes. All in all, as expected it has been a very memorable summer, and as a previous rider counseled me, one sure to provide an endless source of dinner tales.  After 10 weeks and 5,300 miles of riding together, the "French Connection", Serge, P-A, and I finally parted ways at the Toronto Airport.  I am confident that this is not our last adventure together.

Cheers to all, I will be making the occasional update as things wind down once back at home, and I compile my slide show from the 2,695 photos taken since departure. Thank you to all for your words of encouragement and comments over the summer.

Postscript:

I am now back at home in New Jersey after saying goodbye to everyone in Saint John’s this morning.

Before and After

Shape shifting: I got a chance to weigh myself on the home scales and have lost a total of 18 lbs during the 10 weeks. Better yet, along with the net weight loss of 18 lbs, I have converted another 16 lbs of fat into muscle, and now have a 6% body fat ratio. Time for some new clothes as none of the clothes that I wore in June fit me now!

Day 70 – Crossing the Gulf (North Sydney, NS – Argentia, NL)

Fog in the gulf

Today was basically a rest day aboard the ferry. Apparently fog is typical weather for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and we were not disappointed. I had booked a bunk on board and made good use of it. It was interesting trying to sleep as slight rocking if the boat made for an uneasy queasiness – thankfully the Gravol worked.

I spent a fair bit of time on the upper deck enjoying the fog and cool breezes and fog which shrouded everything.

Clear Skies over Newfoundland

Once we arrived near the Newfoundland shore, things cleared up and made for some great pictures. I had not worn the pants which I chose to wear for the ferry ride since leaving BC, and it became quiote apparent how much weight I have lost.  They seem to have grown two sizes at least!!!

Our 10th Province

Riding today was a scant 3 miles - basically from the ferry to the campsite with a slight detour to the “Welcome to Newfoundland” photo op, and a quick side trip to the tourist office for a Provincial roadmap.

It is now just shy of 9:00 P.M. Newfoundland time (which is 90 minutes ahead of EDT) and it looks like we will be feeling the Eastern edge of Hurricane Earl tonight - the winds are fairly strong, and it smells like rain.  At least that will give the camp gear a "pre-rinse" before we finish things tomorrow and fly back home on Monday.
I suspect with everything happening tomorrow evening (celebration dinner, goodbyes to the friends I have made over the past 10 weeks, disassembling and packing my bike and camp gear, etc. etc.) my next blog posting will be from New Jersey.

It has been an amazing ride, all 5,420 miles of it, and a wonderful but surprisingly short summer.

Off to my tent beforee it blows away - Cheers!!!

Day 69 - Transitions, to the Edge (Englishtown NS – North Sydney NS)

Downsizing

Posted Sept 4th from Argentia NL

Our last sunny day of cycling on the mainland took us off Cape Breton and onto the mainland of Northern Nova Scotia. Today was a day of transitions as the 5 ton truck which had carried our gear from Vancouver across the continent was not making the trip across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to Newfoundland.

That meant repacking our stuff from the two laundry baskets we had for the last 10 weeks into our main baggage, so everything could fit in the van and trailer.

Since today’s ride was a short 26 miles, I took the opportunity to do one final wash, and sleep in before heading out around 11:00 A.M. with Serge, Pierre-Alain, and Jacques.

Bras d'Or Lake

Once on the road we had the usual great views – this time of Bras d’Or Lake on Cape Breton and the bridge across it.

The Bras d'Or Bridge

Fully loaded!

One of the fun aspects of today was to load all (well 30 out of 40) bikes onto the trailer and van for loading on the ferry.  It made for quite the sight.

Camping on the Gulf

Our “campsite” tonight was aboard the ferry which would take us 266 miles across the Gulf to Newfoundland – 14 hours of time at sea. Departure was scheduled for 1:30 AM so it would be a long day. I did manage to stay up to watch the bow of the boat close after the last of the tractor trailers was loaded on. The boat itself was about 300 feet long so it made for pretty smooth sailing. Thankfully Hurricane Earl will miss us, at least for the ferry crossing.

Day 68 – Why Not !!! (Dingwall, NS – Englishtown, NS)

Cape Breton

Today was another sunny day with a relatively short (only 66 miles) route, so we decided to do some extra sightseeing at the beginning. It seems that everyone is getting up earlier with each day, and today was no exception. I still get up at 6:15 A.M., but by that time at least half of the 40 riders had already departed on the route.

White Point

We left camp shortly after 7:30 and within the first 10 miles Marc, Trevor and I opted for a descent off the main route to see the village of White Point, a place Marc had visited last year but the views were shrouded in fog. Our rationale was that it wasn’t even 8:30 so we could afford to see things. The views were much better than last year.

Why Not !!!

Before leaving the port, I saw a boat with a name that seemed to fit the mood for the day. You can see behind us, the climb we had to make to get back up to the main route.

North Shore of Cape Breton on a nice sunny day!

We continued along the Cabot Trail, with spectacular views of both Cape Breton and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

The road seemed to fall off the face of the earth.

The climbs today were a lot easier than yesterday, b ut the descents were wicked steep. I think I will need new brake pads when I return to New Jersey.

Temperatures were in the high 90s, low 100s but the riding was great. After a ride into some very strong headwinds, we arrived in camp shortly after 2 PM, set up camp and showered. Everyone is pretty excited tonight because we are having a meal with meat – hamburgers.

We have a short 24-mile ride to the ferry tomorrow, and our big truck which has carried our gear for the last 9 ½ weeks will not be making the voyage, so we are madly repacking our stuff so that it will fit into a small minivan. A bit of a hassle, but we will manage, as we have for the last 68 days.

It is hard to believe that after a year of planing and preparations, we have only 3 days left in our adventure.