Still out there…

Some exercise/adventure updates, if you’re curious…

I guess it’s old news by now (slash, was never “news” in the first place), but that whole spring-forward-daylight-savings-begins happened last weekend. That has been — ignoring one night of confused sleep and the darkness of the AM — a very positive development; light in the evenings is really very encouraging.

OK, not this weekend — but the same ride, and hopefully it will start to look more like this in a few weeks

We spent our first “spring-ish” weekend on the roads. A relaxed brunch ride on Saturday (a stop at a diner halfway through the ride) was the perfect way to get off the trainer and onto the streets.

It had snowed the day before but the March sun had more or less torched the snow by Saturday morning (although poor bike did get awfully filthy.) Slightly discouraging to see how much cycling strength was lost over the winter (when comparing segments on Strava), but it is early yet…

Reward brunch

One of my favorite cycling strategies is “reward based cycling,” really just when you plan your ride around a delicious meal destination. This diner is exactly 20 miles away from us, making for a nice loop and a great brunch. It might not be the Best Cycling Food Destination Ever (a title reserved for PB Boulangerie in Wellfleet, MA — at least in my opinion. But in this case, my opinion is a correct-fact).

Best ever cycling destination with best fuel — orange chocolate chip bread

Then Sunday, post clock change, was reserved for a run. Lucas and I have been running with a friend who is training for Boston and she had 20 miles scheduled. The plan was for me to run the first 10 with her and then switch off with Lucas, but when we picked up Lucas it seemed like a good idea to keep going. After 2 hours and 55 minutes and 20 miles, I had my personal distance record for running (after only ever previously getting to 13.1, and nothing over 10 recently)! I was pleased.

Personal distance record, wahoo!

In other psuedo-news this Sunday is our Saint Patrick’s Day 4-mile race (finally registered this week) and am hoping to improve upon last year’s time, so we’ll see how that goes…

2012

And a final note — just received this email:

Dislike

That is not great news, runners!! We’ll have to find out what the actual course is, but half (well, some) of the appeal of the Fairfield Half is that it is a challenging-makes-you-earn-it course. Powering through hills is fun. Flat is boring. Plus, my guess is that the “flat 5-mile stretch” is one long out-and-back that is pretty, but also boring. (I could be wrong.) If the organization wanted fewer runner complaints, they should have the race start earlier (not as hot)…people moping after not being prepared for the well-publicized hills is no reason to change the course. Finally, why head into Westport? It’s the Fairfield half!! This is not intended to sound too complain-y, just a little miffed, I imagine it will still be a great race but I did enjoy it the other way.

Have a great, activity-filled weekend!

Cross (Country Ski) Training

Family vacation

The winter of 2013 has become, somewhat inadvertently, a season of cross country skiing.  The February blizzard was very much a high point, with excursions around town, on the beach and regular visits to a local golf course (as good as skiing gets in suburban CT), but before that we had the fantastic opportunity to visit Maine Huts and Trails.

While this might be a little off-topic from our usual emphasis on running and cycling, perhaps it will be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about Maine Huts or looking for a tremendous New England adventure.

Flagstaff Lake

We had read this NY Times article last winter and were totally inspired by the author’s vacation: a hut-to-hut ski trip in the Maine backcountry, with nights spent at comfortable, amenity-filled (hot showers!), eco-friendly lodges. But last winter’s temperatures were so terrible (warm) that we never pursued it. With this winter’s first snowfall in late December and a few trips to local golf courses we were once again itching to ski somewhere not punctuated by par signs and sandtraps, (again, the pitfalls of suburban CT). With a few phone calls, the very helpful people at Maine Huts were able to assist in planning a trip that would start at a trailhead in Kingfield, enable us to spend two nights at huts farther and farther north (Flagstaff and Grand Falls), and end, 45 or so miles later, in West Forks, Maine Our car was shuttled between trailheads over the weekend and we experienced the satisfaction of a point-to-point trip.

Flagstaff Hut

Grand Falls Hut

The trails were fantastic, helpfully groomed and set with ski tracks, and cutting through a huge variety of Maine wilderness. There was certainly some serious climbing, but also super-fast downhills and tons of relaxing flats. The last day–14 miles from Grand Falls Hut to West Forks–had the most dramatic elevation profile, but it was also my favorite in terms of scenery and trail variety.

In front of the Grand Falls hut

The huts (more like lodges) exceeded expectations for comfort in pretty remote areas. Each building had a fireplace, couches, books to borrow, games to play, beer and wine for purchase, comfortable bunkrooms and delicious meals cooked by the engaging staff. And after going on the post-dinner energy tour of the buildings, we were also in awe of how eco-friendly the huts are (each toilet only uses 3 oz of water per flush!) Both huts at which we stayed were incredible: Flagstaff had the benefit of being on a gorgeous lake, but Grand Falls might have been our favorite for its remote feel and mountain views.

The most fun

While I did not accomplish my primary life goal of seeing a moose (despite valiant efforts at sunrise and sunset), this was a fantastic excursion. To us, it seemed pretty unusual and constantly astounding that such great accommodations and extensive trail systems both exist in the United States and, almost better, are reasonably priced. Tremendously fun, and something I hope we can do every winter. I’m also excited to see how the organization grows (the first hut was built only in 2008) — it seems to be well on its way to success.

45 miles later, a little windburnt

Learn to Ride Rollers

During the first week following Super Storm Sandy exercise consisted of chain sawing and stand up paddling around the neighborhood, all of our energy was poured into helping the neighbors.  As some form of normality returned my thoughts began to wander back to cycling, yet the roads were still a complete mess of trees and downed wires.  It was time to leave the military state of the neighborhood and head out for supplies, by this I of course am referring to two sets of rollers.

Not suitable for riding

Having previously heard of rollers but never having seen them in action I was excited but a bit apprehensive to use them. My main concern, were they in fact possible to use? Or would I crash to the ground over and over.  As the test dummy I was the slowest to fully commit to them because of this unknown. We soon realized they were quite easy to use with each subsequent family member picking it up quicker then the last.

A lot of suggestions on the internet mention riding in a doorframe, but the technique we found to yield the greatest success was to have someone grasp the center tube while the rider mounted.  This hand, as long as it is out of the way of the pedal stroke, should provide stability and should be used as a guiding force to keep the rider centered on the rollers as they begin pedaling. Ideally, you probably want to recruit someone whose strength you really trust. If you maintain this setup for 5-10 minutes the rider will get used to the feel and the holder can slowly lessen their control while still providing a sense of security.

Holding the bike steady

Once the rider is sufficiently comfortable the hand can be removed and the rider can either hold onto a shoulder or chest high table, attempting to ride on their own while still having something to grasp should they lose balance. It’s easier to to lightly rest your hand on top of a counter or table, rather than against the often suggested doorframe.

Rider holds onto a shoulder

You will quickly find yourself becoming comfortable and self-sufficient.  For the initial learning phase I would not recommend clipping into your pedals, perhaps simply wear a pair of sneakers or even feel it out barefoot.  Soon though you should be able to clip in and ride with no problem.  Even once you have deemed yourself proficient I find it better to ride next to a table for ease of mounting and to use should you lose your balance, a foot stool can alternatively be used to start.

Lightly resting a hand on the counter

The joys of rolling are now yours!

Independent riding

Filling Up The Calendar

How is it already the almost-end of February?!  YIKES. Time to start being moderately concerned about my lack of running fitness. At least the best way to jumpstart “training” is to think about what’s on the calendar for the spring/summer. Here’s what we’re looking at right now:

Race Face #cranky

March 17th: Warren Street St. Patrick’s Day Classic Four fast, flat miles with Irish Stew and Pepe’s pizza at the end (on the beach)… pretty good set up.

April 7th: Greenwich Half Marathon I kind of think this is the first of the half marathon in Greenwich, or at least in the past couple years. It conveniently starts/ends very near our grandparents’ house, runs right past a buddy’s apartment and sounds like a fun, convenient way to convince myself to be running in a regular, organized fashion.

June 2nd: Bloomin’ Metric 100k A great kick-off to the summer cycle season.

June 23rd: Fairfield Half Marathon The best half marathon. And I’m not just saying that because we grew up in Fairfield…and you get lots of neighbors cheering for you. It really is a fun, spirited, hot race. Ideally not cycling 155 miles the Saturday before will benefit our legs this year.

Summer + America (and Lucas)

July 21st: MWARBH Practice In signing up for the Mt. Washington ride you’re allowed to ride the auto road this one other day, as long as you start before 6 am, have a ride down and are OK with riding unsupported. Hopefully this will allay some of my tipping-related fears and not substantially increase the issue…

July 28th: CT Challenge Perhaps another post will address our appreciation of the CT Challenge – this is more a reminder for us to register before March 1st in order to get our free jerseys. Cannot miss up opportunities for more gear.

Ideally, CT Challenge 2013 won’t be QUITE this rainy.

And that brings us almost right up to August 17th’s Hill Climb! Wahoo.

Fortunately, I finally (finally!) bought new running shoes today. Thank goodness, and excellent timing.

Can you tell which ones are new? Are you sure? Yes. You can. The trashed ones are circa 2011.

Anyone out there registered for any of these races? Any suggestions for the greatest races in the Fairfield County area — are we missing something major?

Solving a Rubik’s Cube while riding rollers

A great way to perfect concentration and balance on rollers. A more in depth post on technique will follow shortly.

Five Reasons to Cycle UP Mount Washington

Why ARE we cycling up Mount Washington this summer? As previously discussed, the road is 7.6 miles at an average grade of 12%, with a finishing 22% grade. Mount Washington is known for having the “worst weather in the world” — crazily unpredictable, wildly windy and almost completely out of any seasonal trends. There is a lot about the event that sounds actually somewhat atrocious. The top is so steep that riders can find themselves without enough forward momentum and tip over. Then the road is too steep to start back up. And the climb is unrelenting–it never, ever lets up. So before I start to actually really truly wonder why, let’s see if I can come up with five good reasons…(or good-ish)

1. Challenges (and extremes) are cool: To be completely forthright, I am totally attracted to competing in something interesting, challenging and pretty unique. I know that doing something to “say that you did it” is a pretty mediocre motivating factor but it is very appealing to accomplish something this challenging — and know that the field is pretty small.

2. Female 20-34 is not a competitive age group: Yes, we are starting with the more self-involved reasons here. Last year, I believe there was one rider in this group. Placing in age groups is a delight and why not ride now before one (me) is totally out-skilled? That being said, the race itself is probably one of the few rides where a recreational cyclist like me can ride with (far behind) actual pros.

3. Mountain summits are happy places: A good portion of our birthdays between the ages of 7 and 18 consisted of hiking Mt. Mansfield in Vermont, a tradition that instilled a lifelong enthusiasm for summiting peaks. Proceeding upwards until there is nowhere higher to go is a really fantastic feeling, so combining that with another favorite hobby (cycling) seems like a pretty great idea.

Minus that one super grumpy day at Mount Diablo, summits are great

4. I like hill climbing: I really do like hill climbing on my bike. Sometimes, I forget this but ultimately I enjoy that special fatigue and screaming burn that is reserved for (what I consider) the longest climbs. Going really fast kind of scares me, so a race pace of sub 5 mph sounds somewhat appealing.

Hopefully I’ll still think this is fun…

5. Spectating made me want to ride: Last year, we happened to be at Mount Washington the weekend of the hill climb and were able to hike up again to see the finish. It was just fantastic. The strength and perseverance of riders, the screaming, cow-belling spectators–it all made me both cry and desperately want to be on the other side of the pavement in a year.

Pretty neat indeed

Maybe Lucas will check back in with some more reasons for riding….For him, insane weather is definitely a major selling point.

184 Days…

The calendar tells me that there are 184 (and a half) days before the 2013 Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hill Climb…which means it’s prime time to cue up the stress dreams/nightmares. Last night I nightmared that I was at the event and had forgotten my bike (perhaps a reaction to the forgotten helmet incident of 2012), but weirdly I had just enough time to try to go home and get it (very much not true in real life). Also I was at the top (?) of the mountain spectating  when I realized this fiasco, so I had to drive down (terrifying). Then I got home and I discovered that I had completely forgotten to change the gearing so Bike probably was not going to make it up the hill. I think she was also missing a wheel. And a bunch of people at the event had already told me I didn’t have enough cycling experience. I then had an all-out temper tantrum and woke up. And started actually to wonder if it is possible to fall off of the road. All very upsetting. Perhaps moving Bike’s storage spot to the foot of my bed yesterday was not good for my sleeping psyche.

Maybe a little too close…

You might wonder how it’s possible to be terrified of something this beautiful:

Something whose chalked names and screaming spectators I can only imagine make you feel the teeny, tiniest bit as though you are crushing the Alpe d’Huez…

But then you remember that 22% grade finish…after climbing 7.6 miles at an average grade of 12%. SO STEEP.

Challenging to photograph effectively the steepness. But it’s there…

Time to get some exercise!!!!