Bummer. Ben Drops Out.

The good news is that it's going to be roomier inside my tent. The bad news is that I'm not going to have Ben with me on this ride.

Ben goes to college at Macalaster, in St. Paul, Minnesota, where there has been snow on the ground until last week. Last week, he had finals. And a sinus infection. So with zero riding preparation and still not feeling well, Ben, surprisingly, was not all that enthused about undertaking this trip. Even the prospect of camping with Dad didn't change his mind (ok, I admit that's not exactly a strong inducement)!

As Bob, my riding buddy from cross country, succinctly put it upon being informed of the news: "There's a lot of wisdom in Ben's decision." Hard to argue with that.

Ben, you'll definitely be missed, but Bob (and you) got it right. Feel better soon. But I'm still expecting you to guest author a blog entry!

Training has Ended (that was fast)

Well, yesterday I finally did a ride of over 50 miles -- to Nyack and back, about 52 in all. Of course, 4 of the 5 days on Climate Ride are over 60 miles, so I'm not deriving too much comfort from today's effort. On the other hand, I deliberately took the hilly route -- River Road, followed by County Rte 5, giving cumulative elevation for the day of more than 3400 feet -- which is pretty good. And my legs, quadriceps in particular, feel it this morning. However,I'm not sure that I'm going to have any more training opportunities before flying to San Francisco on Thursday morning, so I guess I'm going to have to ride myself into shape on the trip!

Training has Started (and I'm already behind)

If I had a nickel for every one who said "hey, you rode cross country, this Climate Ride can't be a big deal," I would be a rich man. But the truth is that the physical benefit of that ride has long ago faded and I'm not really in great bicycling shape. So I'm trying to get some training rides in, hampered a bit by the fairly cool weather we're experiencing here in New York.

On the other hand, on the mental side, it's true that riding cross-country has definitely give me more confidence that, even without being in top physical shape, I can pull off a five day ride of this sort.

My early spring regime has actually been going to spin class two or three times a week at the new Flywheel location on the upper West side.

I'm not sure it's going to help my long-distance bicycling, but it sure does help me walk up subway stairs without getting winded. And don't knock that benefit!

So the start of my outdoor training was on April 24th (3 weeks until the ride, gulp). My favorite loop -- 30+ miles, with some decent climbing thrown in -- to the Alpine Station in New Jersey and back -- along the River Road going, back on 9W. Hey, it's a start...



It was also my first time across the George Washington Bridge on a bicycle since returning from the cross country trip on September 8th. (See pictures below) Not the same emotional impact, but I'm glad to be back!

This was on April 26th -- up to Scarborough -- putting on a bit more mileage, but still no Climate Ride distance!



This ride was with Laura on a gorgeous Sunday (April 28th) -- just a couple of loops around Central Park. Easy! Except the cops were out in force, requiring full stops at red lights. I stopped and chatted up one officer. She said they were really focusing on the bikers blitzing through lights and crosswalks when moms with baby strollers are trying to cross. She said she couldn't condone going through the light, even if I stopped before hand (i.e., essentially treated it like a stop sign), but she did say that that sort of riding behavior was not their target. Cold comfort of a sort, I guess....




This ride was on Tuesday, April 30th -- actually, a combined train ride and bike ride. First, I biked to the 125th street station, then took Metro-North to Larchmont to visit my father-in-law (Carleton) and begin an oral history project with him (a story for a different time and blog). I bought a round-trip train ticket, but when it was time to go, it was so nice outside that I decided to ride home. I'm glad I did, but I was distressingly tired afterwards (distressingly in that the distance was less than half our typical Climate Ride planned day).




This ride was on Tuesday, May 7th, really one of the first picture-perfect riding days in a while. Even felt pretty good afterwards, although, in truth, it's only a little over half (both in terms of distance and overall elevation) of what will be our hardest/longest day on Climate Ride. I've got to try to get in at least one or two 50-60 mile rides before we leave next Thursday!



This is May 10th. A speedy (relatively) three and a half loops in Central Park. Still avoiding the serious distances, but at least getting some saddle time.