Chilly, windy day in the low 40s with mixed precip. in the higher elevations. This was one tough ride, and in spite of how silly those booties look, I think I'll need invest in some for such days. The rest of my body was cozy, while my left foot was frozen solid. Why just the left? Gail's theory is that it had to do with wind direction...good guess.
This was only my second time climbing Ringwood from the Ellis Hollow side, and it's quite a challenge, particularly the last two climbs. Feeling good now, though it was really hard to get out of the door.
First Yellow Barn climb of the year. I like taking it on from Rt. 13, heading south, and it's by far my hardest regular climb. Today wasn't pretty, but I got the job done. I was imagining being passed by dozens of elite cyclists on the 800 ft., 2 mile climb. Today is the Paris-Roubaix race, considered one of the toughest bike races in the world, and I was imagining what it would be like to be in the mix there. I'd get flattened and publicly humiliated, so my solo cycling adventure was probably a better choice.
Since spring is exploding all over, I brought the camera to document the greening of the landscape. I never get off the bike to take pictures, which should explain the primitive framing of the shots. Garmin needs to integrate a digital camera into their next generation of cycling GPS units—I think it would sell like hotcakes. Perhaps a helmet cam would be a better idea. I'm hoping for one for my 50th.
After the Yellow Barn climb, I decided to extend the ride a little and take on another climb, so I took the Brooktondale extension off of 79 and headed up Banks Rd. to Coddington. When will I ever learn about Coddington? There was a terrible motorcycle accident on that road the other day which resulted in a fatality, and I couldn't help but think about that awful event while riding on what must be one of the most dangerous cycling roads. The road is narrow with many blind corners, huge potholes, and fairly aggressive traffic. If you look back through my entries, you'll see previous promises to avoid this road like the plague, but hopefully I will remember to avoid this until the road is resurfaced. Given the controversy regarding widening Coddington, along with the dreadful state of budgetary affairs for NY State, this probably won't be happening any time soon.
Today I felt like I really turned a corner on my season. I'm ready for some longer rides now, and I'll probably be joining the Finger Lakes Cycling Club for some of their Tuesday evening rides. Amateur racing is still a distant thought—hopefully I can find a kind soul to mentor me through the process.
How strange it was to be cycling with temps in the upper 80s today, an April Fool's Day joke deferred. Early this week I was riding with chilly knees with temps in the upper 30s. Kind of hard to comprehend, but I'm not complaining. It is a bit of a shock to the system, and if that weren't enough, I was fighting straight line winds in the 20+ mph range. My friend the wind practically pushed me up to Terpening Corners in Lansing, and I got there 4 minutes faster than usual. It was a two-water-bottle day, and I was parched by the time that I returned home. Lots of other cyclists on the road, but interestingly very few of them were in Lansing. For some reason, Ellis Hollow is much more popular than Lansing, Dryden and Freeville, which is just fine by me.
I was feeling pretty low energy for most of the ride, and it was a gargantuan struggle to keep the pace, especially on the Ringwood climb. This ride was my final push to ride 400 miles in my first month of the cycling season, and I'm short of that goal by just under 4 miles. I'm more than pleased with this pace, and now I can relax about being off the bike for 5 days, a well-deserved break.
Today was also the true test of my new helmet and shoes. The ventilation on the Giro Atmos is truly stunning, and there were moments on some of the climbs that I forgot I was wearing a helmet at all. The design is well worth the extra dough, though if you're looking for one of these helmets, check ebay carefully and be patient. Why pay $170 when you can get it for around $130? My Louis Garneau shoes also proved their worth. Today I finally had the opportunity to ride with the vented insoles, and I can assure all skeptics that it works as promised. The feets stayed cool throughout the ride, and meant that the old dogs didn't swell up at all.
This afternoon was beyond gorgeous. After a long winter and a series of gray, gloomy days, an afternoon ride in the sparkling sunshine is almost more than I can bear.
This was my first ride of the year on Turkey Hill Rd. and Ellis Hollow territory. A student today told me that his mom was crazy because she gets up some insane hour to ride up Quarry Rd. (the steepest section on the elevation profile). I tried to explain that folks of a certain age desperately need to do such things, but he'll just have to wait a while to really understand! Anyway, I took mom's advice and did the Quarry climb, which is the first time I've gone up that hill. It certainly won't be my last. It's not as challenging as Yellow Barn Rd. and Ringwood Rd. in Dryden, but it does get the heart pumping.
Armin Heurich is an educator and sustainability advocate based in Ithaca, New York. He has served as a Teacher-Librarian at Ithaca High School within the Ithaca City School District since 1997. He promotes youth engagement in climate justice, in partnership with educators, school Board of Ed. members and administrators, and integrates information-literacy-based climate education into the curriculum. Before his 30 year career in education, Heurich studied at the Center for Media Study at SUNY Buffalo, graduating with a BFA in 1985. He actively engaged in the early Western New York independent media scene, exhibiting his single channel experimental video work and participating in media collectives such as the Media Coalition for Reproductive Rights and the 8mm News Collective. In the ‘80s and into the 1990s he served as Technical Director for the media arts center Squeaky Wheel in Buffalo. In recent years, Heurich has shifted significant focus toward systemic climate optimism, municipal accessibility, and youth environmental outreach. He partnered with fellow educators, school board leaders, and students to co-draft a comprehensive Climate Action Plan for the Ithaca City School Di
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