Roadside Interest

Add this to the list of interesting four legged creatures I've seen along my rides - llamas!

Less than Four Weeks till Century Day

I'm in the home stretch - the Tri-Coast Seacoast Century is less than four weeks away! I like lists so it's time again to take stock of what I've done since I bought my road bike 15 weeks ago:

Total number of miles ridden to date: 940
Longest ride: 62
Average weekly miles: 62
Hours on the bike: 63
Towns ridden through: 17
Number of rides solo: 35
Number of rides with company: 5
Number of near misses with a car: 1
Number of times lost: 3
Number of pounds lost: 8
Other body changes: a lot less wiggle on my lower half, stronger back and arms

Two remaining goals to complete before Century Day:

Total number of training miles: >1,100
Longest ride: >70

My fear for many weeks was that I'd be the last one crossing the finish line on Century Day, but I'm guessing I don't have to worry about that one any more.

Down and Back Along the Merrimack

This past Saturday I finally got out on my road bike for a much needed long solo ride. I went out along the scenic Merrimack River to Newburyport and back in the late afternoon. Total miles: 47. Total ride time: just over 3 hours.
What a beautiful ride on a beautiful day! My friend Sue had introduced me to the route on the north side of the Merrimack a few weeks ago. And my work colleague, Marie, recently introduced me to the south side. Both offer many miles of scenic river views lined with either trees and wildflowers or beautiful waterfront homes.

This was one of my more meditative rides, and it's easy to see why. Riding on peaceful routes like this helps quiet my mind like nothing else.
I started biking to get in physical shape. But as I started expanding my routes and my understanding of what I'm really doing, I realize it's gone far beyond the physical. Biking the many beautiful areas near my home has literally helped me mentally to get past the everyday stresses and see life more clearly. In fact, lately it seems that I'm just using the biking as an excuse to get to that place of quiet calm that I can only reach when I'm out there on my long solo rides.

Changing Gears Part 2

Thought I would include some more pictures from my mountain bike ride up north this past weekend. This scenic and secluded spot definitely provided some good blog material!

Here is another view of the dirt road I was on - 9 miles up, 9 miles back.Surprisingly, I spent much of my time dodging butterflies. There were hundreds of them basking in the sun on the road. This was one of the trails I briefly explored during my ride. Even though I had a mountain bike, my days of trail riding are pretty much over so I did this one on foot.
What a great fishing spot this is...Here's one final shot of the river. It's nothing but pure, clear mountain water. Had it been hotter, I would have jumped right in.
That's it for this trip and my mountain bike for now. Back on my road bike tomorrow....

Changing Gears

This past weekend I changed gears a bit. I dusted off my old mountain bike and headed out for some off road (or more accurately, off paved road) biking.

We were up north for our annual family camping trip. Our favorite spot is a cabin located several hours away in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but a river, the mountains, blue sky and wildlife greet us every year. Just what the doctor ordered after a very stressful week!

Our cabin is located 9 miles down a gated dirt road. As you can see from the shot below, this was a perfect spot to get in some extra training miles.
Much of the ride is flat along the river but it is quite hilly and curvy at times. The potholes were out in full force this summer after all the rain, so fat, knobby mountain bike tires were a must.
Below is the footbridge we need to cross to get to our cabin. Before it was built a few years ago, the only way to get across the river was to drive or wade, depending on the height of the river that week. An unexpected heavy rainstorm could raise the river a few feet, so careful planning was always required. It's a far drop from the bridge to the river so no wobbling on the bike is allowed!
Here's a shot of me at the end of my ride taken by my husband. Although I missed the fit and comfort of my road bike this weekend, I had a great 18 mile adventure along the river and through the woods. During my time out, I also fit in a few off bike hikes to check out unchartered swimming and fishing holes. And as with all my rides so far, I was able to spot some little known treasures that I never would have seen from the car.

Morning Meditation

Peaceful views like this are what motivate a night owl like me to get up and out on my bike just as the sun is rising. I've found that it is during my busiest and more stressful times that I need and benefit most from the quiet meditation of my morning rides.

Hawk Encounter

Last month, I wrote a post taking stock of where I was in my training halfway to Century Day. In it I made mention of a near miss with a hawk carrying prey as I was biking. A few of my friends have asked for more details so here we go.

The whole encounter was very brief. I was huffing it up a hill through Newbury in a dense area of forest. I was trying to do my usual routine of not looking more than 10 feet ahead so the hill wouldn't overwhelm me. All of a sudden out of nowhere, a huge hawk dangling some poor creature, flew right into my line of sight. He literally came within 6 feet of hitting me. It was so close, in fact, that I couldn't help thinking he did it deliberately to show off his catch for the day. Then off he went, crossing the road and back into the forest.

I've had so many animal encounters since I've been out riding. Some involve the unpleasantness of passing roadkill. But most involve seeing live birds, rabbits, chipmunks, turtles, cows, horses, and turkeys carrying on with their daily activities (except in one unfortunate instance years ago, I did have an unpleasant and humiliating experience of being chased by wild turkeys while biking...more on that in another post). None, though, have been as unique and memorable as my hawk encounter.

Another roadside view

I know I've already posted a picture of this field from an early morning ride but here it is in full daylight. These are purple loosestrife according to my father, photographer extraordinaire.

More lessons learned....

And below are some lessons I learned riding in my very first organized/charity ride....

• At the starting line: Clear out your bike calculator, take a few pictures and pay attention to what the announcer is saying. It may be helpful information about the ride!
  
• Know the mile markers of all water stops in advance.
  
• Fill your water bottle up at every water stop. I didn't do this at the first stop since my bottle was still over half full, but then later had no water for 5 miles.
• Pay attention to the road markers so you don't miss your turns. Initially, it didn't occur to me to look for them (who knew?), so I missed the first sign. Thankfully, I was riding with others who were paying better attention. This is especially important when you've lost sight of any group and are out there on your own.
• Bike through the "official" finish line before heading to your car so you can get the claps and cheers. Make sure you check back in with ride organizers.
  
• Bring flip flops and a clean T shirt to change into. Also bring wipes or a towel to wipe off road grime.
• And most importantly, don't forget that it is a ride not a race. After all, the whole point is to raise money for a good cause and enjoy the ride.
  

Group Riding Lessons Learned

Below are some lessons learned on my first charity group ride this past weekend on the Cycle for Shelter. I know they may sound obvious, but a solitary rider like me had a lot to learn, such as...

• There really is such thing as drafting behind another rider. It makes riding so much easier and faster. Make sure you take turns at the front (I need to work on this one...)
• Check your back frequently to see if there is someone silently drafting you. If so, don't forget to point out turns, pot holes, cars, sand, dog walkers, etc.
• If a group is about to pass you, do your best to latch on at the end. It's just about impossible to catch up to them once they pass you by more than 10 yards. (Or at least it was for me...)
  
• Don't assume that all people out there are riding your event. Look for the number on the shirt. Two guys on their regular weekend bike ride rode with me for a period of time, then went well ahead of me and turned off to another route. I'm pretty sure I saw a third guy riding in our event drafting them as they made turns that weren't part of our ride. He was too far away to yell but hopefully, he caught on quick.
• Look out for road spray, especially if there has been recent rain.
• Pay attention and make sure you don't hit the guy's tire in front of you. This will cause major self damage. Thankfully, I've avoided this so far and plan to continue.
  
• And last but most important, riding in a group is way more fun than riding alone...