Frozen Dairy Frenzy

Ithaca's winter 2010-11 will go down in history as one of the most real and stubborn seasons in a while, if perceptions are indeed accurate. After experiencing many Buffalo winters that challenged its' citizens to the core, I felt positively coddled by the relatively tropical Ithaca winters, that is until now. The big differences between these two locales are the cold winds coming off of frozen Lake Erie and the sudden, massive lake effect snowstorms. I remember all the wear and tear on the paint and the decking on our front porch resulting from driving snow, rain and mixed precipitation, and I must have replaced the storm door closing hardware four times in six years. Portions of the decking needed to be replaced frequently, much like weather-beaten homes on the coast of Maine, and if you didn't keep on top of exterior maintenance, you really paid a price. Meanwhile, Ithaca winters, at least in the downtown area, have always been mellow until this year. I've been so used to a week of oddly warm weather sometime in the middle of winter and then an early spring, so it's been a bit of a readjustment.

This year has been particularly trying for cyclists desperate to log winter and early spring road miles. It seems like every time we are teased with a warming trend, the cold and snow swoop in once again. In spite of this annoying pattern, I feel fairly successful in getting the best of a challenging situation. Today I crossed the 600 mile threshold for the year, and should have close to 1K miles logged before my first race on May Day. Rather than despair like I did last year, I just kept looking for opportunities and concocted a winter cycling wardrobe that worked for the most challenging of conditions.

King Ferry, Ledyard, Genoa, Lansing

While my last two rides were all about climbing (Snyder Hill, Ringwood and Mt. Pleasant), today I concentrated more on distance. This was my longest ride of the year, a tad under 48 miles, along a familiar route that I'm quite fond of, up to King Ferry and Ledyard along Cayuga Lake, east to Genoa (big dairy country) and back home through West Groton and Lansing, and it was the most brutal and memorable ride of the year so far for sure!

The first 20+ miles up to Ledyard via Lansing and King Ferry were rough. Direct headwinds of 15-20 mph had my digging deep and averaging only 15.8 mph, and my legs felt like rubber by the time I turned on Ledyard Rd. I concentrated on keeping my cadence up high, but my legs were stinging a bit from the cold, in spite of my layers. After toying with the idea of using my remaining pair of ski hand warmers for a month now, I finally broke down and shoved them into my winter cycling gloves. It was really good move, since my hands never got cold during the entire ride.

As soon as I headed East I felt liberated, since I was no longer battling a powerful invisible force. The eventual tailwind had me flying home and every hillclimb was a breeze (pun intended). It was great to be back in big dairy country, and a big hats off to the friendly dairy farmer with the vanity plate on his pickup "Milks4U" who slowed down to make sure I wasn't chased by a dog and gave me a hearty wave. Winter and early spring can be dangerous times for cyclists, since drivers aren't expecting to see bikes and folks are less likely to tie up their dogs. This kind gesture by the friendly farmer had me wanting to buy up a big supply of his milk, even if it wasn't organic and didn't come from a small farm! I've always found farmers to be very friendly to cyclists, even though you'd think that they'd be annoyed. They're working insanely long days and then some overgrown kid with a fancypants carbon fiber bike zips by, seemingly oblivious to their hard work and daily back breaking chores. I usually feel guilty until I imagine that somewhere in farm country is a crazed cycling farmer getting ready for the racing and growing seasons simultaneously.

The ride into Lansing went so fast, as did the ride down East Shore Drive, and I was home before I knew it. The tailwinds really boosted my average speed, and I managed 18.1 mph for the windy loop. It wasn't my best time for that route, but all things considered, it felt pretty good. My fuel management and recoveries keep getting better, thanks to my latest sports nutrition obsessions. I'm hooked on the Heed products of late, and I'm using Perpetuem instead of gels and bars during the ride. The stuff really works, and it makes so much more sense to take on fuel in smaller quantities with less time in-between than the old gel and bar approach. You just adjust the mixture according to how long you'll be riding and you'll never bonk. The Recoverite seems to work like magic to reduce post-ride soreness and restore muscle. I was skeptical for the longest time, but my body is telling me that this is the magic elixer.

The Fuji Bordeaux, Jean's new road bike.

Finally, I was thrilled to be able to help my friend Jean buy a used road bike today. I called her the moment I saw the posting on the FLCC listserv, and she is now the proud owner of a 2005 Fuji Bourdeaux in mint condition. Thanks, Stephen, you did right by Jean, and I can't wait to go for a ride with her on her spiffy new toy.

Spring is Fickle

Yesterday and the day before we were basking in temperatures in the 60s, so it felt like cruel and unusual punishment to be back in the 40s with overcast skies and blustery winds. This made motivation especially hard, but it was well worth it. I took a new figure 8 route on familiar roads to get my distance up to the mid 30s. This was my first time on Ringwood coming from Ellis Hollow Creek Rd. and my first time on Snyder Hill Rd.

Who cares about the weather? Bring it on!

Spring Ahead and Speed Up

Loving the Maxxis Hors Category tire, great for training

Spring fever has struck for real, and never mind the road grit, this has been a glorious week of cycling. This is such an exciting time for cyclists, as we finally see ample riding opportunities on the horizon. Who cares if it's raining, as long as the temperatures are in the 40s or warmer.

I finally eked out a 100 mile+ mile week, and today I shed my jacket  and tights for the first time. It felt pretty strange to be suddenly so liberated, especially on the climbs.

As I headed up to Terpening Corners for me pre-work commute/workout, I noted with delight that my average speeds kept climbing, and then it just got better on the return trip down East Shore Drive, as a friendly tailwind pushed me all the way to work. I managed the 15 mile ride (900+ ft of vertical climb) averaging 20.9 mph, which was by far my fastest ride of the year. This has me wondering how much aerodynamics is a factor—my rain jacket  does flap around quite a bit, so riding without it probably does increase my speeds, but also, the wind direction is truly a wildcard variable. Either way, it feels good to be pushing the speeds up, especially as racing season is nearing.

Tuesday night racing starts up in a few weeks, and Hollenbecks is on the horizon, so I look forward to riding with others again soon.

Against All Odds, Spring Has Sprung and Family Cycling Fever is in Full Bloom!

Regrettably it has been a while since my last post. My most recent entry from early February was about my valiant efforts to keep going with winter cycling. February was a strong month, in spite of plenty of snowfall and cold temperatures. All told, I managed to eek out 115 road miles during the month, along with some hearty workouts on the trainer. The touring bike was an adequate substitute for the road bike, but I was getting increasingly itchy to get back to a more rigorous road biking schedule and really test out my new wheelset. I was getting all excited about March, since last year my season started, and then this happened. That's Ithaca for you—not enough snow when you want it most and then a useless and ridiculous early March blast.

March Madness

Enough already! Over a foot of snow on March 7th really put a damper on cycling for a few days, and I was cursing the weather gods once again. It used to be that snow got me all worked up in a good way, but  these days I just see it as an inconvenience. Fortunately for me, the warmer temps and heavy March rains made short work of a record snowfall. Finally the road bike resurfaced, and yesterday marked the beginning of my daily commute via Remington, Triphammer Lansing and back along East Shore Dr. It's so gratifying to take the road bike out after a long absence and get the confirmation that all that wintertime conditioning and cross-training really paid off.

Toby, the proud owner of a Fuji Ace 24

This week Toby finally got his Fuji Ace 24 from Glenn Swan's, and he is such a proud and happy guy. As Glenn predicted, Toby understood immediately that a road bike is so much faster and responsive on the roads than his mountain bike. It's sad that there aren't more road bike options for kids, but we are so fortunate to have Glenn's shop and his tireless cycling advocacy. Those 24" wheels are pretty cute, and it's a pretty impressive package.

Leo finally learns to ride...today!

And today, in the midst of submitting this latest blog entry, Leo has finally decided that it's his turn to learn to ride! Look how proud and determined our little guy is! Now that he's on two wheels, we are looking forward to family cycling adventures galore. This afternoon I'm taking Toby out to Lansing to start working on some moderate hill climbs. I'm not sure which one of us is more excited...