The Five Towns 5K Run

This does not have to do with cycling.  By the way the renegades rode today, Ori,  Arthur, Isaac and one other guy.  Hmm, oh yeah, it was BobL. It was not as cold as some NSW might have thought. 50 miles.

But I am race director for The Five Towns 5K Run/Walk to be run on April 18, 2010. This is in support of Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans.

Info at  www.5towns5k.org

X-Mas Eve Road Conditions

Temps were conducive enough to riding today. Left home before 9:30, in the high 20s/low 30s. By the time I got back my thermometer read 41°.

Although the roads are mostly clear, there are still many patches along the LIE where some snow got pushed onto the driving lane, either by traffic merging from the right, or other less obvious reasons. Be very careful and always look ahead. Many times it's hard to tell what's up ahead. Sometimes it's snow or slush, but other times it's patches of salt on dry road.

I didn't want to run into this stuff on twisty single lane roads, so I just rode the LIE's service road until I hit 25 miles (by exit 53) and turned around. It wasn't scenic, or all that exciting, but it was relatively safe.

Strong breezes from the north/northeast made it tough going out but a little easier coming back (one more reason not to turn north from the LIE). In any case, due primarily to my rib issue, I couldn't really push myself all that much. My average at the end of 50 miles was a pathetic 15.4.

Only saw two other riders on the way out.

Hitler Wants To Ride His Mountain Bike

Who knew?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGH7vBC2nw

.

Renegade's Email Peloton

Anyone interested?

http://www.deathride.com/index.html

thks,

Barry

I won't be flying anywhere for a ride, as long as I'm out of work. But for those who will, and are planning to bring your bikes along on the same plane, here's a primer on flying with your gear.

http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/article/0,6802,s-3-12-21401-1,00.html

Ori

When I travel with my bike, I would always ship it ahead.  Door to door, no airport hassles.  Cost to ship to FL was about $40 each way & took 3 days.

David 


Same here. 
Barry

My experience is not so great.  $150 each way to Colorado fedex ground and it took at least a week
Bob.

The key is the size.  The travel case or bike box being + or - 1 inch makes all the difference.  The boxes from eg. Performance and Thule are 1 inch over the Fedex/UPS limit and make it an 'oversized' shipment - thus the $150 charge each way.   The 'Iron Case' for example is 1 inch under the limit and ships for less than half that amount.  

Barry

Wow.  Size matters.
Greg

I clearly did not think through the many uses of the word 'size'.  Please don't hold it against me - the word usage, that is.    
Barry

I am OK with paying more because mine is too big.

Isaac




The size of your equipment isn't as important as how well you use it.

OK. So now you all know.
Ori


No wonder no one else wants to be on our mailing list. 
Bob

I was always socially inept.
Ori

What's up with Lance?

Read about Lance in Arizona.

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/320706

Pre winter musing

As the weather gets cold and nasty, I think of when it was hot out.  If you think hard, you will remember a time this summer when the temps were hot and the riding was good.

Bring on the cold.

BobL's Sunday 12/6 recap

Posted w/o Bob's permission


Most excellent ride today, albeit first winter ride.  65 miles in sunny
brisk dry weather.  Greg, Arthur, Ori and I started at Lakeville and
Northern, Dave joined us at Wheatley.  To avoid wet roads and possible ice,
we stayed with the regular Huntington Harbor ride plus Oyster Bay up Sandy
Hill stopping at the Syosset 7 11.  Hope we get a good winter group going;
it's worth fighting the inertia and initial chill, really.

Bob

Are You Ready For The Sub 8.5 Lbs. Bike?

Check out this 3,784 grams prototype not-for-market study bike from Canyon.

http://www.canyon.com/_en/technology/project37.html

I wonder, though, just how well it can handle actual road conditions... or heavier riders, before falling apart.

It's The Amazing Magic Chain!

With Bob's permission I'm pasting his email to the Renegades following yesterday's ride.

"We had a fabulous ride on Sunday! We started out with three of us, Ori, Greg and I, at Lakeville and Northern. We picked up Billy early on the service road and did the usual Sunnyside Extension into West Hills via Sweet Hollow Road. Greg had teenage girls to transport back to the city by 11am, so he headed home at Stillwell after that. The three of us continued into Huntington Harbor, but then added Oyster Bay up Berry Hill to the 7 11 in Syosset. On the way home through the campus Billy and Ori stopped to fix Billy's front derailleur and I doubled back to meet up with them. Then back to Great Neck. I finished with 68 miles."

"A bit chilly at 8am, but really nice sunny clear day with very little wind. A great way to end the long weekend."

"Hope everybody else had a great holiday."

In terms of Billy's front derailleur issues, the strangest thing happened. Riding through the campus, as Bob mentioned, Billy dropped his chain while shifting to the small ring. Nothing out of the ordinary there. I kept riding but kept looking back to make sure he stayed with us. I kept slowing down and a minuted or two into it he still failed to show up. I decided to go back to see what the issue was. Turns out that his chain had inexplicably come out of the front derailleur cage. It sounds impossible, but there it was. The derailleur cage was completely intact and operational, yet the chain was outside of it. It must be a Houdini chain. We simply couldn't figure out how it came out and how to get it back in, except by opening the rear of the cage. It was a simple matter of removing the bolt and pulling out the end bracket. But once the chain was back on we just couldn't manage to put the bolt back in place with the tools we have, so we put away all the loose parts and Billy finished the ride in his small ring without any problem.

Thanksgiving with the NSW

Even without turkey flavored energy gel Thanksgiving brought out BobL, Ori, DavidS, and Isaac for an NSW renegade event.

I believe it was left at the fourway? We headed towards Bayville but did a duckpond thing that put us on Feeks. Moore's Hill, Snake Hill, and back to Stillwell.
Before Snake Hill we met Scott and Steve.  Triangle guys who rode along with us untill Syosset.

I once read somewhere that you should expect to take some kind of fall off your bike every 2000 miles or so. On Thanksgiving I guess I clocked in my 2000 miles on Stillwell. No broken bones, no broken bike.  I do have a cool black and blue on my chest in the shape of my drops, including the brakes. I rode back to GN at slower than renegade pace.  Ori, David, and yes even BobL waited at various points for me to catch up.  I have a 5k cross country run in Stillwell woods on Sunday near the scene of the crash. I should ride again next week.

Bumpy, campus and home for turkey.

Windy: No Wheelmen In Sight

Nothing like a brisk fall breeze to scare everyone into cowering at home. (Buck, buck, BUUUUUCK!)

Rather than riding alone I decided to try my legs at hanging with the 8:30 triangle group. I waited for them at the corner of Wheatley. A small group – only half a dozen – rode by just before 9:00 and I joined in. By the time we reached Woodbury Road the group had grown to about 20 or so. It included two women and a scrawny teenager. I wouldn't be surprised if the latter were to go pro in the future. They can all kick our sorry butts without breaking a sweat.

A number of them were sporting matching "Triangle Cyclists" kits. Turns out they have a web site with a fancy video intro that looks way better than the rest of their home page.

http://trianglecyclists.com/

I can hang with this group on the flats and the downs without burying myself, but I tend to drop off the back every time they hit a climb and, competitive as they are, start hammering. This happened a few times over the next hour, on the LIE, Stillwell and bumpy. Every time I pushed as hard as I could just to keep them in sight and managed to catch up whenever they slowed down for a light or at an intersection. After bumpy we hung a right at the white church. By the time they started charging up Chicken Valley Road I had nothing left and lost them completely.

Found myself by the moving and storage, spent, and decided to finish my ride by covering some of my favorite routes: duck pond, Horseshoe, Sandy Hill, back through bumpy and white church, then Wheatley and LIE back home. Whenever I didn't have the benefit of a tailwind I had to drop to my small ring just to keep moving along at an easy pace. Eventually I made it home.

Somewhere during my struggle to hang with the group I lost my computer (must have knocked it off its shoe with my bottle), so I don't know my overall average, but I was able to figure out my mileage to 55 for the day by using Google Maps.

Sunday 11/22 The Buddy System

Again the weather cooperated and the NSW and North Shore Uniwheelman were on the road.

BobL, Ori, Isaac, and JeffK set out to the Sunnyside extension.  BobL and Ori rode with the renegade banner and Isaac and JeffK pulled up the rear.  The renegades added Snake Hill and both groups continued on Stillwell. Refer to previous posts to see who the uniwheelman was.

There is talk about four days of Thanksgiving riding. Start times and locations are the same.

Where was your bike made?

Kudos to DavidS for finding this.

Interesting article; “Where Was My Bike Made?”

http://allanti.com/page.cfm?PageID=328

Sunday 11/15 - Wetter than expected.

Does a North Shore Wheelman on a Unicycle count towards the days total riders? I say if he is wearing a NSW jersey then he counts.

Amos, that is one big wheel!

Also riding today were JeffK, Alan, BobL, Ori, Billy, Joe, Larry, and Isaac.  JeffK, Alan  and Joe went short.

Renegades went long with Larry leaving early. This became a theme for the rest of the ride. After sunnyside,Snake Hill, and Moore's, we lost Billy.  He did a Barry and missed Sandy Hill.  I actually do take a bit of blame for this as I was lagging behind.  Billy stayed with me for a while.  When we lost contact  or should I say when I lagged even farther behind is when he likely missed the turn. I did not see him and he at that point could see Bob and Ori. A newbie mistake.

A possible reason for my slow going might have been the flat in my front tire that I was riding on from possibly Moore's till Syosset 7/11.  Oddly it only felt wrong when I got out of the saddle. Another possible reason could be my lack of indoor work this week coupled with 2 hours of  full court basketball. Yeah I did some running too this week. Maybe too much cross training.  (I am pleased that I do have a forum to present my excuses,even though Ori, who already knows them, and I might be the only people reading this.)

A recent post by Ori showed the fastest flat fix/tube change on youtube. It was sad that we had no video camera as this might have been the slowest flat repair. After BobL left Syosset ahead of us, I began to change my tube.  Lesson learned, never forget to check the inside of your tire for what may have blown the tube in the first place. I did not. Thus the new tube was punctured.

I had a patch kit!  That smelly stuff that comes in a tube for the patch was all dry.  Ori gave me a slime instant patch, which would have worked but the fiberglass spike that had punctured the tube had made two holes. The patched tube went on then came out.

I thanked Ori for the tube he gave me and we were finally on our way.

JeffB did not ride but showed up at 8:00 to offer us his wet weather benediction. Something he learned on his Israel ride.  The sun did eventually come out as we left Syosset. 

Bumpy, White Church, and Wheatly.  Ori thinks It was about 60 Miles.

Justice Served?

Here's the latest on the trial of an aggressive motorist in California. It's worth reading. It's not that extreme a case. I can certainly see it happen anywhere.

http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2009/11/05/justice-served/?cm_mmc=BicyclingNL-_-2009_11_13-_-blog-_-roadrights

If you can't click on this URL, copy it and paste it in your browser's link window.
.

JeffB in Israel

For those interested in how the ALYN Wheels of Love ride went - here's a brief recap: 

- We had three days of absolutely miserable weather to start.  It never rains here.  Water is a precious commodity.  But last week we had torrential downpours, together with thunder and lightning, strong winds, and on the first day, we even had hail.  Yes, you read that right.  I'll spare you the rest of the whining (for now.) 

I ended up getting sick with a fever and other assorted ills, which put a serious crimp in my riding for days 3 and 4.  The weather cleared for days 4 and 5, and eventually, so did I. 

The ride - as always - was difficult and challenging, but also breath-taking, inspirational and emotional.   To those who have supported me in this cause, I thank you so very much.

Hope the weather in New York holds up for at least another week.  Hope to see you all soon.

Best regards,

Jeff B

Sunday 11/8

Cool weather = cool ride

The 8:00 am start brought out seven wheelmen, five of them renegades.
Herb, JeffK, BobL, Greg, Ori, Barry,and Isaac enjoyed a cool start and a warm finish.  Herb and JeffK went short.

Renegades went long, as if that was a surprise.  Joining the renegades was BillyE, a triangle refugee who's company we enjoyed.

Of note was the seven pounds of cold weather gear Barry was wearing. Yes he did weigh his gear when he got home. The total weight of his gear related directly to the length of his excuse for his slow pace. Barry also missed the Sandy Hill turn. Again due to his balaclava.

The route for the renegades was sunnyside, Snake Hill, Moore's Hill, Sandy Hill, the Bumpy, Campus and home.

This was how we looked before the caffeine kicked in.

I do not see what was wrong with this picture but then again I was not in it. I am somehow reminded of the people that used to sit in front of the hotels in South Miami Beach before it became South Beach.

Total miles 62.

Sunday 11/1 The Rain Delay and the Wheelman

If you did not go out last week you missed a rare sighting of Amos on his unicycle. I did not know his wheel was so big!

The wet roads pushed off start times for the Renegades to 9:30. BobL, Ori, Arthur, Isaac, and Greg did a Sunnyside, Snake Hill, Campus ride.  Isaac dropped out early at Stillwell, I had curfew issues.

To see the ride info go to:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17754724

New Start Times

This just in.

After careful and protracted deliberation, the NSW High Council unofficially let it be known that the new start times, effective Sunday, November 8, 2009 are 8:00 AM in Great Neck and 8:30 AM at Wheatley/LIE.

As far as I can tell, renegades are still tolerated.

Tweeteleh

Twitter for Jewish Mothers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhilbbeUc0g

North Shore Wheelmen in Israel

Isaac (me) has just returned from Israel from a charity ride, JeffB has just left to Israel for a charity ride.

I returned this week from a 5 day bike ride in support of disabled Israeli veterans. Total mileage about 350. The ride's goal was to promote cycling as one of the rehabilitation activities for the disabled vets. As part of the ride we rode with disabled vets some of whom were blind riders on tandems. Some were riders on hand cycles. The picture above is me riding along side the Dead Sea.

What is it like to ride in Israel?
First it is a pleasure that EL AL the Israel airline does not charge you extra to take your bike on the plane.
Our first day took us from a place near Jerusalem to the Mediterranean coast city of Ashkelon. Some hills but mostly a rolling terrain.
Day two was a tough 55 miles followed by a 6 mile climb that had parts with 14% grade.

Day three took us from the coast to the Dead Sea by way of a town called Arad. It was 70 miles to Arad over rolling roads.  From Arad to the Dead Sea it is a 20 mile downhill to the lowest point on earth. My speed topped out at about 43mph. The most fun came when the road leveled out or had a slight rise before the next drop. At these points you hammer as hard as you can to maintain speed for the next downhill. At the end of this ride we had the a dip in the Dead Sea.  As the Dead Sea is extremely salty one tends to float without any effort. But the extreme mineral content also causes extreme burning on any irritated or cut areas of your body. After 90 miles of riding no chamois cream in existence can protect you from the Dead Sea. At least they claim that its waters are good for you.

Day four was a long slog back to sea level and above.  My odometer read 54 miles when we passed the sign that declared sea level. We continued on untill we were not far from Eilat, the southern resort town on the Gulf of Aqaba. Total miles about 85. The highlight of the day was our encounter with Kate from Russia. Kate comes to the Dead Sea twice a year as the sunlight at the lowest point on Earth is good for her skin condition. Since she needs to be in the sun for nine hours a day, she brought her road bike and road bikini to pass time away. Why can't we get women like this to ride with us in New York!?

Day five was the final climb then descent to Eilat. A tough climb at the start and a fast downhill at the end.  My max speed - 49.35 mph!  About 60 miles ending with a nice dip in the Gulf.

This ride was the south of Israel.  JeffB will be doing the north with hopefully cooler weather. A heat wave had kept temps near 100F for most of my five days.

Totals: About 350 miles on the road.  About $5000 raised by me for a good cause. Kudos to Eli, the blind and one armed rider from Israel that road a tandem with us for four of the five days. It was special to to connect with one of the people we were riding for. He also had a cute tatoo.

Total raised by the whole ride - $150,000!

Columbus Day renegade ride.

When I woke up Monday morning my outdoor thermometer read 39 degrees. By the time I got to Ori's house the temps had risen to 46 degrees. Just the right temperature for a NSW renegade ride.

Three hours and 54 miles later a great ride was had. Wheatley, Bayville, Sandy Hill, Syosset, The Bumpy, Campus and home.

Kudos to Ori for providing a strong pull when I needed it.
My next post will be from Israel. Stay tuned.

10/4/09: NSW Are Busy With The MS Ride

Note: This is an edit of my post.

Sunday, October 4, 7:00 AM. Light fog. Colonial building parking log. Where the heck is everybody??? You know early morning fog lifts as soon as the sun comes out. (I was later reminded they they went to do the MS ride. Kudos to them.)

Oh, well. Rather than riding alone once again, I decided to wait for the 8:00 AM triangle group. Around 50 riders rolled by and I joined in. I like large groups, even though it can be sketchy. As a matter of fact, I had a near mishap on the way out. I was right on the wheel of the leader. As we approached a traffic light, it turned red and he suddenly hit his breaks without warning anyone, fishtailed and I came within a fraction of an inch from touching his wheel and going down. Only my reflexes and handling skills saved me. Whatever... I wagged my finger at him. He was the strongest rider in the group.

We rode the LIE's service road all the way to Commack (exit 53) and Smithtown before turning back eastward. In Smithtown we had a very short deli break. By then I had ridden 35 miles at 19.1 average and wasn't even tired.

The return leg was somewhat slower (18.6 overall average by the time I was back home). I stayed close to the front, taking turns with the pulls. Somewhere between Stillwell Lane and Muttontown Road most the group had split off in a different direction. I found myself with a half-dozen South Americans riding back by way of Jericho Turnpike. I didn't like that route, so I left the group and went back on my own. On the last stretch of Wheatly I was joined by 3 riders that I recognized from earlier and I pulled them the rest of my way.

All in all not a bad ride. Perhaps next time I find myself alone on a Saturday or Sunday morning I'll try hanging with the 8:30 group. Those guys are real hammerheads.

World's Fastest Rear Wheel Flat Fixer

World's fastest rear wheel flat fixer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbC3Zkgq4dc

Yet Another Beautiful Day For Riding In Huntington Harbor

Unemployment has its benefits.

9/26/09 Tour Of The Hamptons

108.46 miles, 18.1 MPH average, thanks to Locomotive Bob pulling the entire way. Nuf said.

P.S. Barry and Arthur had a great ride too.

Sunday 9/27 - Rainout

I do not believe that anyone rode today.  I can not recall the last time we had a rainout.  It has been a really good stretch of Sundays.
Yesterday was a glorious day and  I here through the grapevine that some of us did a Hamptons ride. Look for a post from Ori.
As for me, Israel training continues.  I am off to do some indoor work on the trainer.

Paracycling Worlds

These para cyclists rode with me last year in Israel. They participated in this event. I hope to ride again with them this year when I do the "Courage in Motion " Ride, www.cycleisrael.com.

Sunday 9/13

The weather cooperated. The "A" group was BobL, Ori, Barry, Isaac and JeffB! Yes JeffB made the jump into the "A's". Well actually Isaac and JeffB were like the "B+" group. The route was the sunnyside extension, snake hill, the switchback, and campus. BobL, Ori, and Barry added a loop before the Woodbury Deli.

JeffK, Harold, Amos, Joe and others made up the "B's".

Next week - the beginning of cooler weather.

NSW Blog vs Bicycling Magazine!

As most of you know on August 23 the NSW had an incident with the Old Westbury Police. As is my obsession, I made a lengthy post about it with links to state sites that had laws and info on cycling.

http://northshorewheelmen.blogspot.com/2009/08/sunday-823-nsw-vs-old-westbury-police.html

In Bicycling Magazine there is a column called "Road Rights" that is authored by Bob Moinske having to do with bicycle law etc. I felt I had made a useful post and thought it would be of interest to him and cyclists in general. I emailed a link to this post to Bicycling.com (on 8/25) and wrote in my email that it might be of interest to Bob Moinske. I heard no reply.

Today I opened my new issue of Bicycling and turned to the Road Rights column. Does this have any similarity to my post?

http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2009/08/31/where-you-belong/

Maybe it is just a coincidence. Do I smell paraphrasing? Can it just be my ego? I am going to make a couple of calls in the morning and maybe send off a letter to the editor.
Isaac

NSW Extra

A special Labor Day ride left Great Neck with BobL, Greg, Barry, Larry, Isaac, and newbie MitchL.

To see the ride info go to this ride link. Kudos to Larry and Garmin for the ride tech.

Isaac stayed with the group through Snake Hill then I got lost. When I did rejoin the group in Huntington my legs were just not there. I must have left them in Long Beach. My ride took me to Syosset Bagel via the switchback and then home by way of the campus.

Word has it Ori had a flat and missed the start of the ride. He crossed paths with the group near Bayville.

Total mileage:
The "A" Group 57.75 miles
The Isaac Group 54 miles (slower)

North Shore Swim-men?

JeffK and Isaac missed the Sunday ride.
JeffK and Isaac did not miss the the Long Beach one mile open ocean swim. Cool morning temps and warm morning water made for a pleasant swim.
For reasons I still do not really understand I was in the top three in my age group. I was given a small glass mug. I do not know how they came to the conclusion that I was in the top three of my age group but the mug was cute. I hope they do not want it back. JeffK said I should not ask too many questions.

Latigo Canyon Road, Malibu

While vacationing in So. Cal., my family visited my wife's cousins in Malibu.  A beautiful, warm sunny day, like every other day I hear, my cousin Russell & Brett, avid riders themselves convinced me to ride the above mentioned ride.  Local legend, (Brett) has it that about 4-5 years ago while riding in the Malibu canyons he came across a rider dressed in black on an umarked Trek.  After trying to chase down the rider, it turned out it was Lance A on a casual training ride.  Turns out, these climbs are used by many of the U.S. based pro teams due to their length & steepness.

So, I figured I'd give it a climb.  This climb in particular was 7.5 miles with many switchbacks & an elevation gain of about 2,000'  Although it may not have been the steepest climb, it was certainly an accomplishment.

Tobay Sprint Triathlon in Oyster Bay

I did not ride with the NSW today as I did the Tobay Triathlon.
The result was as usual slower than I would have liked. Total Time 1:28:46.

Now the excuses.
I felt very strong in the swim but started in a bad place. As a result I had to fight through a bunch of slow swimmers in my wave until I could bring myself up to speed. I must have lost over a minute due to my poor pre race positioning. By the end of the swim I had the same problem. I had to push my way past swimmers who were fading. I literally had to swim over them in accelerating to the finish.
I felt very good on the bike. Thank you North Shore Wheelmen. I began to lose focus by the last mile or so and that cost me some time.
I currently suck at running. I kills me that I have not been training consistently and I can not run at a speed that I can be happy with. My next race will be at the end of November. I will see if my hamstrings behave.

However, I did feel that I had a good time. I believe I did go faster than last year. When I got home I went to the pool and swam an additional 40 minutes.

Next week I plan to do the one mile open ocean swin in Long Beach with JeffK.

BauBike (That's Bauhaus Bike)

This is what happens when you let a Bauhaus inspired architect design a bicycle. Note, the entire frame is made of square section pipe, even the handlebar.

Sunday 8/23 NSW vs Old Westbury Police

"Stop and pull over to the curb"
This was what I heard from the police SUV with its lights flashing as I rode on the eastbound service road of the LIE.

We started out at our normal meeting place in Great Neck. JeffB, Joe, JonD, and Isaac (me). It was a typical ride to Wheatley. We met up with DaveS, Dave, JeffK, and Harold. The plan was to go to the goats with Isaac suggesting that we add a Sagamore Hill loop. Shortly after we left Wheatley our ride was interrupted.

From my recollection it began with a demand from the officer in an Old Westbury Police SUV that we ride single file on the LIE service road. We did. We were at that time in the right lane. He then passed us. As I was leading I noticed that in a driveway further along that same Police SUV had positioned himself in an attempt to be out of our view.

JeffB said that the Police SUV then came up along side him and demanded that he ride to the "right". Then the officer said: "Not that right, the other right!" JeffB said that the officer rolled down his right window and Jeff explained to him that he/we could not ride to the extreme right as this area had sand and road debris. The area in question was to the right of the white line that had diagonal white lines. (see picture). What JeffK later called a breakdown lane. The officer in question called it the shoulder.

Next I heard the Police SUV behind me and Dave S. He demanded we ride to the right. I rode to the right just to the left of the white line. As JeffB had already informed him, we could not ride where he wanted us to ride due to road hazards. I did not know at the time that JeffB had told him that. Regardless I did not ride to the right of the white line. My belief was it was not safe. At this point the lights came on and we were directed to pull over.

As the Old Westbury Police officer exited his big SUV he declared that we were going to get tickets for not riding to the right and impeding traffic. He also stated that he had received complaints about all of the cyclists impeding traffic on the service roads of the LIE. He told JeffK that he would be getting a ticket too. JeffK said that he was behind him. The officer said that he had seen JeffK in his rear view mirror.

What fun we North Shore Wheelmen get ourselves into!

Not to be outdone JonD took out his wallet and flashed his badge. Harold complained that the officer should be going after the people speeding on the local roads and not us. The officer said that in five years of being in the police department he had never given a ticket to a bicycle. JeffB suggested to him that he should not ruin his perfect record. A long discussion ensued. Eventually after consulting his traffic law book and expert legal nudging, actually I believe it was noodging, we were set free sans tickets.

The rest of the ride was almost uneventful. We went to the goats, a Sagamore Hill loop, a stop in Bayville and home by way of Factory Pond and Wheatley. At the Bayville stop some cyclist disobeyed a red light and lightly bumped into a older man crossing the street. Later It seemed the man that he was with who claimed to be a policeman? got into a pickup truck and peeled out in the direction of those cyclists. We do not know what happened. It must have been something in the air that day.

We encountered a cloud burst and Isaac encountered a flat tire on Wheatley. When I noticed that my front tire was flat I began to slow down. Just then I heard the shouts of the 8:30 Triangle group. They had been coming up behind me and were chiding me for hitting my brakes. I did not know that they were there.

Back in Great Neck by Noon. About 53 miles.

Next week Isaac will be at the Tobay Triathlon in Oyster Bay. Watch out for 1000 cyclist. It is a shame we wont be riding through Old Westbury.

For more info about New York State bicycle laws see this very informative pamphlet produced by the state, http://www.safeny.com/media/share-road.htm. The third paragraph of the first question states that bicyclists "must obey all traffic signals, signs, and pavement markings. Look at our picture. Is this an area that a motor vehicle could drive in legally? Can you call this area a shoulder? The NYS Vehicle and Traffic Laws section 1234, http://www.safeny.com/bike-vt.htm#sec1230 , has most of the information that we need to know. It does not specifically note pavement markings as the pamphlet does. It does say bicyclists can ride in the shoulder.

Also in the pamphlet in the Tips For Motorists, the sixth line of tips notes that experienced bicyclists will ride in the center of the traffic lane three of four feet from the curb to allow them room and time to avoid road hazards and be better noticed.

If this is a state publication then this is what the state wants us and allows us to do. I will try to get my hands on copies of this pamphlet from the state as it has more info than the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Laws and distribute them.

Adventures in Chains

I had the dirtiest chain. Luckily I had a powerlink on my chain which allowed me to remove it very easily without tools.
The following is a web site that I found useful.
http://www.nordicgroup.us/chain/

I used paint thinner and then a spray lube. I am going to get some chainsaw oil.

Sunday 8/16 Hot and Humid

A fine group of wheelmen rolled out of Great Neck: BobL, Ori, Isaac, Barry, JeffB, MattB, JonD, Amos, and Joe. At Wheatley we met up with JeffK, Dave, Paul, Harold and eventually Andy.

The group split with the long riders taking the sunnyside extension to Snake Hill and then to the Woodbury Deli. The short group skipped the extension. Amos and Joe went even shorter.
At Woodbury Arthur met up with us. How important it is not to miss the take off from Wheatley.

The long group went home by way of the campus. The short group went to white church home.

Did I say hot and humid. I went through 5 water bottles of fluids. Also we had a close call as BobL took a minor spill. Just some road rash as far as I know.

Total miles around 57.

A Cute Video

Sunday 8/9 - A milestone, a 5000 milestone

The forecast was for a wet morning but the weather stayed dry for Joe, Amos, JeffK, JeffB, JonD, and Isaac. The route was Sea Cliff for the first time this year. Joe and Amos turned back at Bayville. What transpired later was a milestone.

After Bayville it was suggested that we go to Sagamore Hill. Jon was concerned about the rain. Isaac had never been there and wanted to meet Teddy Roosevelt. Isaac prevailed. Sagamore Hill was followed by Sandy Hill, Syosset Bagel, and due to the threat of rain we took the service road home. CharlieG plus one joined us for the ride home.

Who says we stop too much?
We actually passed two riders, Diane and her friend, (I did not get her friend's name). We would stop and they would pass us. We would catch up and pass them, then stop to regroup and they would pass us. This happened four times.

Finally, the day's celebration occurred just past Oyster Bay. JeffK 's odometer on his bike reached 5000 miles! Kudos to JeffB for the pics.

Total miles about 55.

Wet Sunday 8/2

What started as a dry morning turned into a wet ride. Again the NSW was in double digits in attendance.

The ride was standard Bayville. Isaac, Andy, Neil, Barry, and Bob went ahead. We did Moore's Hill Road then on to Snake Hill Road, Woodbury Deli, the Switchback, Bumpy, Campus and home.
We began to feel a drizzle on the way to Bayville then it was just rain. The pull from drafting behind Bob made up for the discomfort of the spray coming off Bob's back wheel. My sunglasses became my wind(spray)shield. By the time we reached the Bumpy the rain had mostly let up.

I do not know what happened to the second group, which include Herb, JeffB, Harold, Joe, Amos, and JonD. When I returned to Lakeville and Northern all of the other cars were gone.

There is a real sense of satisfaction that comes from the grime and road dirt that you are covered with after a wet ride. Like a badge of honor.

Total distance 60 miles.

Me and the 8:00am Triangle Riders

As most of the Wheelmen were in Vermont, BobL, Ori, and JeffB suggested that I try riding with the 8am Triangle guys.
I met Billy E. who will be doing the Israel ride with me this fall who rode with them.

The ground was a little wet from an early morning shower so the group went on the service road till exit 52 or so. This was about twenty six miles. I was OK till about 25 miles. What I noticed about this group is when I sprint or pull hard after a red light when I am with the NSW I am usually on my own or with Ori or Bob. Today when I slowed down after a hard pull fifteen guys and one woman went right by me. I then had to sprint again to keep with the rear of their peloton.

What was helpful was their sag van (we need one of those). Jaime the driver of the van is very adept at pulling riders who fall behind by letting them draft behind him. Riding in the draft of the van was like spinning indoors and without the wind I was able to catch up.
By mile 24 or so I was getting to know Jaime really well.

We stopped for barely a rest by NSW standards to refuel at a gas station. I held on for another six miles until I was officially dropped.

As getting lost is easy for me, on the way back for some reason I ended up on the LIE rather than on the service road. The next exit was Route 135. On the exit ramp I was able to climb over the guard rail with my bike and make my way through the bushes back to the service road. A Triangle rider who was also dropped and was on the service road commended me on my sweet short cut! The hot and humid weather and effort was cramping my legs by the end of the ride.

Total for the day was 52 miles and a bruised ego.

Wounded Warriors

I took Friday off to ride with the Wounded Warrior ride that was in Babylon. 22 miles with my wife. Average speed - 9 mph. Ouch. It hurts more when you ride slow. Great cause.
www.woundedwarriorproject.org
Isaac

Sunday 7/19 - 16 Wheelmen

Record numbers rode to Bayville and up Moore's Hill road. Yes we lost some along the way but the guys at Woodbury Deli did not know what hit them.
Next week: Vermont!
I will try to ride with some Triangle group.

Death By Hills

That's the name of the NYCC ride I did today, and it was an apt one.

We met on the NJ side of the GW Bridge at 8:30. We had a really nice turnout, about 20 or so. Most NYCC riders are expert paceliners and, thanks to the sheer size of the club, you can always get a nice homogenius group that can work together smoothly. Besides, I knew a lot of people on this ride.

We were really crusing on the flats and the downs. Even on the climbs we were holding together for the most part.

Last week's century was definitely brutal. Today's ride, at 85 miles, was a ballbuster of a different kind. The primary purpose of this ride was, essentially, to hit all the steepest climbs between the GWB and the Bear Mt. Bridge. Some stretches of road were just sick. We're talking well above 20%. On one particular stretch one rider was trying to zig-zag across the road and took a fall while attempting the virtual switchback. Others had to put down a foot due to the extra slow speed. I was able to climb straight up only by litterally pedaling as hard as I could, out of the saddle with my head down. Thankfully these beasts weren't that long and I was feeling stronger than last week.

By comparison, climbing Perkins Drive to the summit of Bear Mt. Was a walk in the park.

I finally ran out of steam after crossing the bridge and crawled my way to Cold Spring. Once there we all enjoyed burgers and beer at The Depot. The plan was to take the train back. Helen had decided to spend the day antique shopping in Cold Spring and I was able to get a ride back. If only the Hutch weren't so backed up, we'd be already home.

Friday MTB

It felt wonderful to ride trail again, after so many miles of road. That is, on a trail bike. Arthur and I met the "daytime crew," the local group we usually ride with.

Glacier Ridge is one of my favorite MTB parks in LI. It's all beautifully designed and maintained fast and twisty singletrack. 15 miles of intense riding will give you quite a workout, and the amount of concentration required to handle the constantly changing terrain is one of my favorite aspects of this type of riding.

Greylock Mountain Century - 7/11/09

I've done many different century over the years, without too much trouble. This one was definitely the hardest one, primarily due to the combined steepness, length and sheer number of climbs. It was harder to get through this one century than through any of the rides I had just done in Colorado, including my 65 mile slog through the desert, into a 25 mph headwind and 95° weather (this after the first 55 miles of that day's ride), or my highest climbs over the continental divide, both above 12,000' of altitude.

It was 5 of us, starting as a group. Our friend Larry, who told us of this event and graciously invited us to stay at his beautiful vacation home in Hillsdale, NY (with his lovely wife, Lois), Larry's "protegé" Chelsea, her Boston College cycling teammate Chris, Bob and myself.

The first major climb came right at the beginning. It was Mount Greylock itself. Station #1 was set up on its summit at mile 22. The road that traverses the mountain made for some absolutely delicious riding. The pavement was smooth, most of it was in the shade, with nothing but beautiful New England forest on either side. Near the summit we were treated with expansive vistas of the land below. Mount Greylock rises quite dramatically from the surrounding northwestern Massachusetts. The haze cut down on visibility somewhat. It is the northeast after all. The maximum grade was 15%, but that was a relatively short section. Most of it was still on the steep side (I'm guessing about 10% or so), but there were gentler stretches. We were still fresh and we didn't have too much trouble getting through it. The descent was an absolute pleasure.

There were many other climbs following that. You can't find any level roads in that part of the country. The next serious climb camejust before station #2 (summit set up at mile 50). That one proved much harder to tackle. Maximum grade was 16% and I believe those steep grades ran for most of the climb. At some point I had to stop and rest mid climb. If you know me, you know that I NEVER rest mid climb. By the time I reached the station I was quite tired. Bob had reached it much earlier than me so he had that much more time to rest (not that he needed any real rest, really), in addition to being much stronger than me to begin with.

After we resumed our ride it didn't take long for me to get dropped. That last climb had taken away almost everything I had left in my legs and we were only halfway through. By then, every little rise in the road I saw coming my way filled me with dread, and they kept coming and coming. I had to drop to my first gear most of the time. It was nothing but steep rollers. I tried to distract myself from the pain by reminding myself to try and enjoy the beautiful views every now and then, but it wouldn't take long before the next climb would yank me back to reality.

On almost every climb I'd be facing what looked like an endless ramp, crawl my way up to the top, only to find out that what looked like the end of the climb was really just a minor reduction in the pitch and there was still another ramp, just as long, till the next false crest. There seemed to be a definite pattern to these climbs. Each one some 3 or 4 such segments, teasing me mercilessly into believing that a descent was at hand.

This ride had a very small turnout, maybe 100 riders altogether, so after the first half I found myself riding alone for a good part of the ride, hardly seeing any other rider along the road. I had decided not to bother with the cue sheet, since most of us was carrying one, not expecting to get dropped or riding such a sparse field. For the most part, I had no problem finding the turn signs painted on the road. But at some point I obviously missed a turn. During yet another painful climb I ran out of blacktop and found myself facing a dirt road. The thought of turning around and adding miles to this death march was too much to bear and I instead convinced myself that this must have been the way. I had looked for turn signs very carefully at every junction in the road and I was sure I was going the right way.

I continued on the dirt road, all the while looking for bicycle tire tracks as a way to confirm my hope. Even though I couldn't see any I was still convinced that I hadn't missed any turn. As the dirt road got progressively worse and kept going up and on, I eventually understood that I was, indeed, off the route. But at that point I still didn't want to turn around. Somehow I could tell I was still traveling in the correct general direction and was eventually going to find my back to the route. I rode a couple of miles on loose dirt, including a quite scary descent. I'm sure glad to have my trail riding experience. I couldn't have done that descent and come out in one piece otherwise.

Eventually I reached hard pavement again. I stopped to try to get my bearings. Before I could finish pulling out my BlackBerry and turning on the GPS I saw a rider coming down the road that I recognized from the last food stop. I flagged him down and he confirmed I was back on the designated route. I guess I had taken a shortcut.

After that there was still some painful climbing (not steep, just painful) until I finally reached Station #3, at mile 80. After a short rest and refuel, I started the last bit. I typically get a second wind at mile 80 on every century and, even though this had been my hardest one to date, this day was no exception. The next few climbs didn't feel quite as hard. It probably helped that Larry had forewarned me that the last 10 miles or so were mostly downhill, which they were. I could finally cruise again, after all those miles of pain and a frustrating snail's pace.

As I caught up to a rider that I had been chasing for a few miles on that descent, I only recognized him to be Larry when I was right behind him and we rode the last few miles together. By the end I logged 99 miles. That "shortcut" hadn't cut all that much off my ride after all.

Bob was of course comfortably waiting by his car, next to two other riders who were having beers from a cooler they brought along (a must on every century). They graciously offered us some too and we finally relaxed while waiting for Chelsea and Chris. In the end they weren't that far back.

After driving back home we finished off the day with hot tub, martinis, shower, more martinis and a delicious dinner at a nearby gourmet restaurant. We knew there was a severe storm bearing down on us. In the end it blew by just while we were inside the restaurant enjoying dinner. What perfect timing!

I'd do it again next year. Thanks for the invite, Larry!

Sunday 7/12

Sunday was G DAY II: Double Goats in preparation for Vermont.

Present and accounted for were Jon, Dave, Amos, Isaac, Alan, Harold, Dave G, Herb and myself.

Dave Goldkrand and Herb had to return early and went up Wheatley.

Before regrouping at the Corset Shop, we met Glen from Syosset, who asked if he could tag along with us. Why Not – the more the merrier!

After regrouping at the Corset Shop, we headed down 108 to the Fish Hatchery. We waited several minutes for Alan, only to be told (can not remember who it was) that Alan had left us at the wishing well. We surmised that Alan must have had an early tee off time!

Up the first goat (Harold asked where the hill was) then on to the second goat. At the top we regrouped and I was absolutely wasted. Dave who has a Garmin GPS, advised that the maximum grade was between 11 and 12 per cent.

I thought Nassau County restricted all roads to 10% or less – but who knows???

Steve is this a potential lawsuit?????

Amos and Glen went up Sandy Hill, while Jon, Dave, Isaac and I continued into Bayville. Dave gave us a strong pull along shore road, where we averaged between 21 and 22 mph.

It was a very quick ride – averaged 15.5 mph including double goat and was at home by 11:15. Total was 53 miles.

Bob and Ori: How was Massachusetts?

JeffK

PS: Sacked out and watched the Le Tour and noticed that the gradient on the Col du Tourmalet was only 9.5% - less than the second Goat!

Socks - Cheap

I needed socks and discovered that on the Defeet socks website you can order 12 pairs of cycling socks for $25 plus shipping. The socks are overruns and seconds.

Today I received my socks and they seem great. I am now part of Moose Racing, Harder Cycling, and Peloton Cellars, you know "Good Ride, Good Wine, and Good Times". I also received a Tour De France wool cycling pair.

Go to http://www.defeet.com/
Go to the socks drop down menu, go all the way down to the bottom of the drop down menu. Enjoy

Happy July 5

Thanks to all for showing up on time! We were on the road by 7:40.

The “A” group was Bob, Isaac and Dave. At the corset shop they did the Sunny Side spur into Huntington. The “B” group, JeffB, Alan, Harold, Joe, Amos, Rich Levine and myself, did Snake Hill into Huntington Harbor.

We all met within 1 minute at the Woodbury Deli. How’s that for timing!

It was a good ride, 56 miles, without incident until just before the Campus where Bob flatted. His first attempt at changing the tire was not successful. However, High Council leader JeffB, he with the golden fingers, was able to rectify the situation.

On the way back we “visited” Harold’s new home. It is very, very nice, with plenty of room for a pool in the back yard! Best of luck to Harold!

Next week Ori and Bob will be doing a grueling century in Massachusetts. JeffB will be in Mexico. In preparation for Vermont, I suggest THE GOATS!

Weather is getting warmer, so let all of us do our best to be at Wheatley by 7:30 AM. This way we are home by 11:30 ahead of the mid day heat.

JeffK

7/3 The Independence Day ride?

Were were 5 this morning: Jon, Bob, Isaac, Eddie and myself. Group "A" (Bob and Isaac) went to the Corset shop, Sunny side extension, etc. Group "B" Jon and myself did Woodbury road, past Wishing Well up the Big Hill and left at the old Beefalo into Syosset, then the bumpy to the campus and home. Eddie had commitments at home and had to turn back early.

Group "B" did 44 miles.

SUNDAY: This will be group "B's" first extended ride: Snake Hill into Huntington. So please try to be on time: 7 AM at Lakeville and Northern and 7:30 AM latest at Wheatley. As we know the ride, this should save at least 20 to 30 minutes at Wheatley!

Everyone have a great 4th and see you on Sunday.

JeffK

Group "A" update:
BobL and Isaac did the sunnyside extention, snake hill, wishing well, bumpy, and campus. Total 57 miles. Back to Great Neck by 11:45.

Extra (day of nsw riding) on 7/3

The High Council has met and decided:

30 to 40 mile ride on Friday. Extra 30 minutes of sleep. Instead of 7:00 AM meeting at Lakeville and Northern, it will be 7:30 AM, 8 AM at Wheatley.

Sunday: Normal time: 7 AM at Lakeville and Northern, 7:30 at Wheatley.

JeffF

Sunday 6/28-Riding on the Sunny Side

We were the magnificent 7 today: Jon, Joe, Paul, Isaac, Eddie, Amos and myself.

After a brief discussion, we agreed with Paul's request to take the service road to the Sunny Side extension to north on Round Swamp Road. (We did this route several weeks ago at Bob's urging)

At the top of the Hill past the horse farms we regrouped. There was an organized ride that went left - we went straight which was better that the last time when we went right.

Down to Jericho Turnpike to 108 north, up the hill and a short break in Bayville.

Ride totaled between 54 and 57 miles depending on where you started.

As most of us have not ridden for the past two weeks (rain) today's ride was a real workout.

I guess Ori and Bob are still recuperating from Colorado.

Next Sunday same time and we will do Snake Hill into Huntington.

Some are riding on Friday - I am not. Traffic is just too tough coming out of Port on a weekday.

JeffK

Final Day: Bagged another 12,000 footer.

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Day 6: Crested Butte to Buena Vista

Day 6: Where to begin? (I suppose from the beginning.)

We were actually all 3 of us ready to roll by 7:00 AM, as planned. We got to enjoy a fast rolling start back down the valley that brought us to Crested Butte. The landscape was just as gorgeous the second time around. Cool early morning air, slight downhill, beautiful mountains on either side of us, a rolling meandering river beside us, slight tailwind, fast smoothly working pacelines. What a way to start the day!

We then turned left into a picture perfect wooded river cayon. It looked and felt as if we were riding through a movie set. You half expected to run into trappers camped out by the river. Even though we were riding upriver, the climbing was very gentle, until we approached the dam.

The short climb that brought us to the top of the dam also delivered us from the cozy confines of the canyon to the suddenly wide open, I-can-see-for-miles-and-miles vistas around the lake that the dam created.

High mountains and uninhabited meadows surrounded the lake on all sides. The next few miles of road ahead are clearly visible below us (yes, downhill). The composition of the landscape around us, the lake, meadows, forests, mountains, clouds and sky look as if painted by a master artist. I wished my life could have ended that instant for I would have died happy.

We still knew the major climb of the day over the Continental Divide was still to come. We were somewhat apprehensive about it, since we'd heard that it consisted of a gain of about 2,500' on compacted dirt over 14 miles of riding. Othe riders we spoke to reassured us that this surface is quite stable and smooth. In the end we found it to be relatively easy to ride uphill. Traction was surprisingly good too (you can even pedal off the saddle) and, since it was still damp, there were no issues at all withblowing dust. You just had to find the smoothest line grind away. The incline was very manageable.

As we started our climb, meadow gave way to forest. Forest eventually gave way to barren rocks, mosses, lichens and leftover snow. As our elevation approached Cottonwood Pass we could see snowy peaks as far as the approaching clouds would allow.

Did I say "approaching clouds?" It was actually a severe storm moving ominously toward us. After I hurriedly took my snapshots I had to shift to escape mode. Fortunately the storm was behind me, while before me awaited some 20 miles of a screamer of a smoothly paved descent.

I quickly pulled on my shell and threw myself down the Atlantic side of the mountain. As a few drops started raining down on us I knew that my safety was going to depend entirely on my speed (though I always descend as fast as possible for the sheer pleasure of it). I shifted into my high gears and quickly supplemented gravity's work with my own leg power. Very soon though my highest gear became useless. I then assumed my well rehearsed downhill aero tuck and let 'er rip, raising my head only occasionally for some air breaking before sharp turns, or to rest my neck.

Every sense and every ounce of awareness is required. Signs, painted markers, subtle clues, unexpected hazards come at you almost too fast to react to. Relax your body and your grip but keep your senses sharp. Trust your equipment. Your bike will find its way but you are in control.

Suddenly the air feels warmer. There is no rain. Could I really be escaping faster than the approaching storm? I must have already descended at least 1,000-1,500 feet. I don't want a noisy, flapping shell around me, ruining the moment and slowing me down. I quickly stop, unshell and resume my escape.

More straightaways and turns bring me closer to safety. Woha! That last stretch felt like quite a drop. I look down. My jaw drops. My computer reads "MAX 58.8." What a rush of guilty pleasure!

As we roll into our target town I look back and see rain swollen clouds still fast approaching. I reach the finish, find the massage tent and settle down. Suddenly the storm hits like a hurricane. Water rains down in sheets as the wind tries to tear the tent from its stakes. All the massage therapists and some of their clients on deck, myself included, run to the perimeter and secure the posts an lines. They obviously know the drill. My mind wonders to the fate of all the riders caught in the storm, including Barry and others that I know that are behind me on the road.

Barry was able to ride through it and made it home OK, but he witnessed a wipeout. Dozens of riders caught in the high mountain and unable to ride through it had to endure hail with very little cover until enough trucks could be dispatche to rescue them.

After the storm passed the sun came out again and the rest of the day felt as if a rainstorm was the least likely event to have occured here today.

Crested Butte's "Four Way"

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Day 5: Relaxing in Crested Butte

Today is scheduled rest day, here in Crested Butte. I'm actually too tired to go out riding. Even though it's "fat tire" week and there are organized group rides going on, I'm going to pass. I need to save my legs for the "real" climbs that are still comong up for the next two days.

Day 4: Montrose To Crested Butte

Today's ride from Montrose to Crested Butte more than made up for yesterday's junk miles. We rode some 95 miles through a variety of gorgeous landscapes. From green valleys, to river canyons, to alpine valleys and lakes.

No major climbs. the pace was fast, thanks to a nice tailwind. Temps were much more conducive to riding.

Crested Butte and its surrounding valley are magnifiscent. Tomorrow is our scheduled rest day, so we'll be hanging around here and relax. I usually like to relax with some mountain biking. I'll see how I feel in the morning.

Day 3: Colorado National Monument + Junk Miles.

The ridge road in Colorado National Monument was a truly spectacular ride and worth every twisty mile. From Grand Junction we rode up the steep 10 mile climb to the ridge hugging stretch end enjoied the gorgeous views of the valley below, the mountains in the distance, and the nearby red sandstone cliffs and other stone formations. we rode some 20 miles (most of the ridge road) out to the visitors center and back.

At some point I found that I could feel like I was flying, while riding a section of road that wraps around a gorge, by focusing on the cliff wall across the other side.

The return descent was somewhat scary, being steep and technical (quite a few gravel strewn switchbacks). Yet a few riders were much faster than me. I was too afraid of overheating my rims with my breaks and getting a blowout at 40 mph, so I controlled my speed.

Unfortunately, the rest of todays ride was a long, tedious, exhausting 60+ mile slog through barren desert, on a busy state highway, in 90+ degree heat, fighting an unrelenting wicked headwind the entire way, all the while sucking on exceedingly warm Gatorade just to stay hydrated. I'll take multi-mile climbs any time over this kind of riding. My pace during that part of the ride was only 10-15 mph, the high speed being on the "descents."

My legs were still good enough to keep working for hours, but my feet were killing me.

starting tomorrow we should be getting back to the kind of riding I thought I signed up for (lots of mountain road climbing and descending).

Day 2: the view from the top of Grand Mesa, the longest flat top mountain in the world.

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Day 1: Glenwood Springs to Hotchkiss

Great ride today. Rode 81 miles. Highest altitude reached was 8,755' (McClure Pass). The only steep climb were the last 3 miles before the pass. beautiful route. Overnight stay in Delta (farming town). Absolutely no nightlife here.

White River rapids outside of Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

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The scent of honeysuckle out there today is so strong, it's almost intoxicating.

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Sunday 6/7

Nice weather makes for a nice crowd. The A's and the B's both went to Bayville via the "s" turns and factory pond. The B's did Moore's hill. The A's did Moore's and then Snake. This led to a perfectly timed rendezvous at the Woodbury Deli. Credit for the images goes to Andy.

Switchback, Bumpy, and Campus the long way. I think we need a glossary for our lingo.

Same time next week

NSW Northern Nassau Century

The following stats are from Barry's GPS.

Details from the "Not Montauk Century, Century"

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/kml/episode.kml?episodePkValues=8358499

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 7:24:50 4:25 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 6:09:23 3:40 pace
Distance (mi ) 100.48
Moving Speed (mph) 16.3 avg. 36.5 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +8,893 / -8,900
Temperature (°F) 74.1°F avg. 80.6°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) SW 10.4 avg. SW 14.9 max.

Thanks for the data, Barry.

Jeffk's Sunday 5/31 recap

Today was the best turnout of the year for the North Shore Wheelmen.

From memory the following were at Wheatley at 8 AM: Herb (first time this year and he rode STRONG), Dave (out from the city for the second week in a row), Jon (on his fixed gear Schwin: we do not know who suffers more: Jon on the bike or his bike riding companion. In any event, riding that fixed gear will only make Jon stronger - or break him!) Jon from Sands Point Golf Club (first time this year, but at his young age, his first ride is better than any of us on our 10th ride), Barry, Bob, Ori, Dave (from South Shore), Andy (first time this year and he is excited about his new bike arriving this Tuesday), Harold, Isaac (hope he made it on time to the Mets game), Joe, Paul, Amos.

MIA: Alan, (probably in training) Jeff (where has the head of the High Council been?), Arthur, Greg, Charlie (maybe still in China?) and Eddie.

If I missed anyone, I apologize.

The route was new for some of us and was suggested by Bob. It went out along the south service road to Round Swamp Road (exit 48) and then North. After a few turns, we rode through some beautiful horse country.

NEW STARTING TIME: The High council has meet and decided: Next week, being our first ride in June, will be a new starting time: 30 minutes earlier: 7 AM at Lakeville and Northern Blvd. and 7:30 at Wheatley.

See everyone then.

Monty Python's "Bicycle Repairman" skit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01xasUtlvw&feature=channel

Sunday 5/17

Rainout for most of us. Bob and Ori road at 9:30 when it was dryer.

Sunday 5/10

A beautiful day for riding. Sun and cool temps.
At Wheatley the Wheelmen split into a long and a short group

Thanks to Barry's Garmin the actual route that the long group took is available online:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/dashboard.mb?episodePk.pkValue=8190820

This route included a very nice leg east of Woodbury Road that came back to Stillwell. Total distance was about 60 miles. BobL, Ori, Greg, Barry, Isaac, and Larry comprised the group.

The short group went to the fish hatchery, up the hill, then left to Syosset, break at the bagel place, then to the campus long way. About 45 miles. The group started with JeffK, JohnD, Amos, Harold, Joe, Paul and Alan.

Congratulations to Ori for being the latest NSW to actually post to the blog.
Next Sunday same time (7:30). Current weather forecasts are iffy.

Excellent Star Trek Commentary

Excellent commentary on the whole Star Trek phenomenon
http://tinyurl.com/tinyST

Customize Your Online Streaming Music Sources

If you want a new online music experience, check out pandora.com or slacker.com. It's a new way to find music you didn't even know was there.

Some Of My Favorite Things

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Aspen Forest, Telluride, CO

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The Paper Dragon

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My First CellSpin Post

CellSpin on your BB lets you access multiple services from one app.

Sunday 5/3

RAINOUT
To quote Greg: " for the record, i'm glad i wasn't out on the road this morning. I'd probably be dead. Or at least two broken hands."

Next Sunday is Mother's Day. It is a good thing our significant others' are not reading the email threads.

The start time is 7:30 from Great Neck.

Thursday at Cafe rustica

12 North Shore Wheelmen had a wonderful "kick off" dinner tonight at Cafe Rustica. Good times, comradeship and food were had by all.

Montauk: May 17: So far Alan, Arthur and myself have decided to do the century from Babylon. We are meeting at the National Grid parking lot on the south service road, at Willis Avenue at 5:30 AM. I have room for one additional person in my car, so if you are interested please contact me.

Sunday, May 24 Memorial Day Weekend. This is our annual Memorial Day ride. Originally we left Hampton Bays to the Montauk Point and back. However over the past few years we have decided to leave East End caterers (about 1 mile from Wildwood) go south to Southampton, then north to Shelter Island, across Shelter Island to Greenpoint and the return along Sound Avenue. We leave from East End to avoid the parking fee at Wildwood State Park. As with the Montauk ride, we will leave from National Grid parking lot at 5:50 AM. Last year Ori, Jayne and myself did this ride which we thought was as good if not better than the Montauk ride!

Sunday, May 3: Remember the new starting time is 7:30 AM from Northern and Lakeville and 8:00 AM from Wheatley.

See everyone this Sunday.

JeffK

JeffK's Sunday 4/26 wrap up and time change

After much deliberation (what else would you expect) The High Council has decided to move up the starting time by 30 minutes.

That means 7:30 at Lakeville and Northern Blvd and 8 AM at Wheatley.

There were about 15 of us who rode this past Sunday. It was our first "normal" length ride. Basically two groups: Bob, Ori, et al in the fast group: They looked wonderful, not only because of their speed, but 5 of them were wearing North Shore Wheelmen colors.

I was in the second group and we had a 40 plus ride with a stop at the Deli in Syosset. Kudos to Harold who rode very strong and Alan who did the entire ride! Thanks also to the group who waited for Isaac and me.

I do not know about the rest of you, but the last 7 miles from the Expressway to home through Port Washington in the heat, it was 85, really did a number on me! Took a nap for an hour to recover!

See everyone this Thursday and on Sunday!

JeffK

April 19 - The JeffK Report

Last Sunday Bob, Ori, Greg, Barry, Joe, Alan and myself rode.

At the Corset shop Bob, Ori and Greg split to do an extra 12 miles. Alan, Joe and myself went to the switch back, then the bumpy to the White Church. On the way to Syosett we ran into Barry who later joined up with Bob and his group.

Ran into Paul in Penn Station and he said he would try to be there this Sunday.

Lakeville and Northern at 8 AM. Wheatley and service road at 8:30 AM.

Hope to see everyone there - it should be a beautiful day for a ride.


Jeff

Sunday 4/12

Five wheelmen and a triangle rider made up the NSW group today. Alan went short. BobL, Ori, Greg, Isaac and the triangle rider, Shigeaki, rode about fifty miles. Bob a little more, Isaac a little less.

Yes it was cold with morning temps around 35 degrees. But it was warm enough to see the caffeine cloud trailing behind Ori.

Next week warmer we hope and more NSW riders.

Start times remain at 8:00 from Great Neck.

South Shore Rules

DavidS, JeffB, Alan, and Isaac rode on the nicest day in April so far. After Alan left early the North Shore Wheelmen were led by the south shore riders. David S showed us how a winter gym membership can prepare one for the road.
BobL did not get the email and rode earlier as he continues his Colorado training.
Next week same time (8:00), I think.

Sunday's Ride

The North Shore Wheelmen are back on the road. Today's start time was 8:00. This should be the start time until things warm up a little more.

BobL and Ori have continued their Colorado training and went fast and long today. They started at 7:45 so as not to embarrass the rest the "group".

JeffB and Isaac rode about 40 miles at an easy pace and felt no shame. Due to a bit of a chill in the air Isaac felt no toes either. JeffB 's toes were cosy due to toe warmers which are still suggested.

Next week same time, more wheelmen.

Sunday March 8

I would like to say this Sunday was the first NSW spring training ride of the year but no. Bob L and Ori have not stopped riding this winter. Along with Barry they will soon be off to Colorado for a week of .... riding!

This weeks ride first found Ori and Isaac doing 40 miles in the a.m. Kudos (thats one of JeffK's words) to Ori for letting Isaac draft behind him all the way back to Great Neck. It is time for me to get back into shape.

Then Ori and BobL added on another 50 miles in the p.m. Ori will soon be putting out his own brand of energy drink.

Start times have been variable so email or phone contact should be made before this coming Sundays ride.