Newtown to Morrow

Last Saturday was my second time riding a very long bike ride. My route took me from the very southern tip of the Little Miami Bike trail (Newtown, OH) to Morrow, OH. It was roughly a 53 mile round trip.

I start the ride by getting up early before dawn (5 AM). Purchased a breakfast meal at McDonalds along the way and arrived at the trail before 6 AM. Just at dawn I set out on my long ride. Riding in the morning hours keeps me from the heat and humidity of the day. By the time I get back it's still a couple of hours before noon. Also, there are not allot of cars on the road where the trail intersects, plus it's not congested with other people.

The first time I rode the long route, it took me about 3 hours and 20 minutes riding time and doing 12 to 19 mph. After the ride my body was spent, legs were aching and lungs exhausted. It took me the rest of the day just to recover.

The second time on the trail I faired better. On the way up to Morrow I felt quite sluggish, only doing 15 to 19 mph. I had to make up some time on the way back if I wanted to do better from my last ride. Luckily, there were a couple of cyclists that were going south. Middle age gentlemen, but fit enough to go fast. I drafted behind them as they did an average speed of 21 mph. Surprisingly, riding in a group somehow gives a person a mental boost into going faster. I didn't feel sluggish at all compared to my ride up. It also helps to be drafting behind someone.

We kept up the pace of 21 mph for about 10 miles until Fosters Road. One stopped to rest while the other split to go on the road. I continued my ride south to my truck, doing only about 18 mph. I wished those guys would have gone a bit more further south, but I was glad of the company while it lasted.

Reaching my truck I was about 5 minutes less from my last ride (3 hrs, 15 min). I would have gotten a shorter time had I kept the pace faster on the way up. The good thing was that I didn't feel exhausted. I had enough energy left to cut the lawn for an hour once I got back home.

Weather permitting, I plan on making this a regular regiment on my cycling schedule. Long rides are good for one's body. Maybe not the first one, but the one's after definitely are.

Meeting Cyclists on the Trail

During my time on the trail I've met allot of people that share the same passion of cycling or even more, like me. It's great to chat with someone that has the same interests. The last encounter was a guy on his Foldable Greenspeed Trike. 

Last Wednesday's ride I met Charlie from Indianapolis Indiana. On my way back from Loveland, Charlie caught up with me at Camp Dennison. We were just six miles away from our vehicles. I tailed Charlie for about a mile or so, doing around 20 to 24 mph. Once we passed Milford I asked him if he liked his Trek 1200, which was about 12 years old. I still have my Trek 1000 road bike from the early 90's, the one's with the down tube shifters. He said, "yes" and we struck up a conversation on cycling and the condition of the trail.

Oh, by the way he told me that he bought his Trek from a very wealthy person that was moving to Florida. The price $20! And it had only been ridden a couple of times. Some people have all the luck.

Charlie's job takes him to Cincinnati twice a week and he tries to get on the bike trail around 7:30 PM. He commented that the Little Miami Bike Trail was a very nice one compared to the ones he rides in Indiana. He does some serious milage on his bike, riding from Newtown to Morrow (about a 50 mile round trip and averaging around 20 mph). Charlie looks to be late 40 to 50 years old, but fit as a fiddle. 

He was making me work on my Strada trying to keep up with him. Granted my Strada is fitted for touring and not equipped to keep up with a conditioned guy on a road bike. I often noticed that I had to work a little harder on my Strada than on my lowracer Baron doing the same speed. I guess I'll have to upgrade to some racing wheels in order to get some extra speed on my Strada.

2008 USA Cycling Masters National Championship

Louisville Masters Race '08 from glenn m on Vimeo.

Photos of the event.

Last Thursday, July 3rd, Louisville hosted the 2008 USA Cycling Masters National Championship event. My friend Jack came up all the way from Alabama to race in the event. I decided to meet him there and take a few photos of the event. I brought my son Shawn to watch and meet Jack again. We haven't seen Jack since his wedding a few years ago.

Jack was racing in the tandem event. His partner Randall was his teammate. Randall came with his wife and son Wes, all were very nice people. I met Jack at his hotel and well all drove down together for the race.

The race was held at a park. The terrain was hilly, but all through the day it had rained on and off. At it's worst, the race course was drenched by drizzling rain. The length of the race was expected to be 2 hours long.

Randall's wife video taped the event. I also, took some digital footage with my handheld camera. I also took photos with my high end digital SLR.

The pace of the race was quite fast. They were probably averaging 25 mph, up and down the steep course. Jack and Randall stayed in the back to conserve energy. Jack wore a helmet cam to capture video footage from a racer's point of view.

On the 8th lap, with two laps to go, Jack and Randall turned a sharp corner past the finish line and wiped out. It seemed that a patch on the road became very slick after a constant drenching by the rain. They were the second team to fall at the same spot. I yelled to the organizers that two teams where down and they soon rush to pick them up.

Jack had a bloody arm and leg. His teammate Randall took the brunt of the fall, bloodied arm, hand and leg. The worst part was that one of his finder nail was just hanging by a small section. We drove them to the Emergency Room. Jack had to get his arm stitched up, but Randall had to get his finger nail surgically removed and had to say in the hospital longer while the rest of us went out to eat. 

By this time it was around 9 PM, but we soon found a chili restaurant that Jack loved, since there isn't one down where he lives. We followed a GPS directions that seemed to have taken us all over Louisville, some sections were very shady. At one point the lead vehicle turned into a one way street going the wrong way, but we all survived.

Jack and I updated each other on current events. Shawn played with Jack or rather Jack played with Shawn. We soon said our goodbyes and I drove home with my son Shawn in the back sleeping away.