Softening Tyre

Corner of Elm and Oak

I went with "tyre" instead of "tire" in the title of this post because I've been reading British cycling websites and have recently discovered Downton Abbey on the telly. Me and Team Shad's Muse have gotten deeply into the Downton phenomenon and have been gorging on the first three seasons via Netflix discs. Total addicts, the two of us.

How brilliant to begin a series of such arcane subject matter (post-Belle Epoch turn-of-the-century British aristocracy) with the year 1912. What happened in 1912? Who knows? you ask yourself. And then you realize in the first few moments of the first episode of the first season that 1912 was the year the Titanic sank. And just like that, you're hooked.

None of that has much to do with today's short ride, except the tyre part. With about three miles to go I noticed an odd swerving and general unsteadiness when turning and realized that my front tyre was going soft. Merde! It had been a necessarily short jaunt anyway, sort of an after thought of the afternoon, and it ended badly though not as bad as it could have.

The tyre never went totally flat. I limped along on it, anxious and careful. At one point, not more than a mile from home, I had to stop and put some air in it with the hand pump. But I never ended up having to change the tube.

Potomska St, Rasputitsa Style

Entering the Glendale area. Pretty.

Institute Rd looking toward WPI

Summary: Sometimes it's good just to ride around on your bike.  It wasn't pretty out, and I had a flattish tyre, but it was sorta' warm and I enjoyed the air and felt strong. 11 miles and some good climbs.

Bright and Cold

Bright and cold today, sharp, snappy, mostly bone dry roads, white salt smears and sand. From the Thickly Settled to the forested slopes crusted over with frozen snow. Mid afternoon, little traffic. Me and the wheels revolving.

Thickly Settled

Glendale St

Bailey St above Holden Reservoir

Shadow of the Sun

A female fisher or a mink
1st road kill of 2015

Summary: Ride #11 on the year. 20.7 miles, 1400 ft + climbing. I feel pretty solid, pretty strong. I'm starting to think that the weight I've gained in the last three months (some 10 lbs) might be translating into a little more power. I notice that I'm able to climb in the saddle more than I could before, that when I concentrate on my pedal stroke I can stay seated longer.

Today at the Tower

Bancroft Tower March 24, 2015

Saturday, March 21, 2015, 1st Spring Ride

Spring arrived at 6:45 PM Friday night March 20 and so did another round of snow with it, though thankfully not that much. An inch fell overnight and residual flurries were still swirling around Saturday morning when I woke but they soon abated and the sun came out.

By noon, all of the snow had melted and a slight breeze was drying the road ways. I hadn't planned to ride but when I stepped out and felt how warm it was, well into the 40s, I seized the chance. Turned out to be quite a sweet ride at that, all the more so for being unexpected.

Leaving the compound 

The thing is, my mindset about riding has changed. The last two years were all about training hard and riding as much as possible. That worked well, to a point. Each year I rode hard throughout the winter so that by the time of shorts & short-sleeved riding weather, I was in mid-season form or better. But each year I over trained and ended up injured and had to be off the bike for several weeks right in the middle of summer. That sucked.

So this year, I am biding my time, not riding three and four days a week, not forcing myself to ride when I don't want to but think I should. I'm also allowing myself a more relaxed approach overall. Though I do work on conditioning, on cadence, on endurance, I am less rigid about it. I'm trying to take each ride as a Zen-like exploration as well as a training session. I'm intent on placing as much importance in the actual process as I am about achieving fitness results.

Today's ride was a good example. I undertook a brief circuit around downtown, thinking that I might head over toward Holy Cross and the industrialized wasteland flats in between, but decided when I got down across Main St that that was a bad idea. Instead of being frustrated, I circled back, took in the George St climb, then decided to pioneer another alternative means of getting out to the Reservoir instead.

George St

So it was Institute Rd, passed Bancroft Tower, down to Pleasant, through Newton Sq, up through the residential streets paralleling June St., then into another neighborhood in which I had to ask a mailman how to get out, and made it finally to and across Chandler St, and out.

One approach to Bancroft Tower

The tower, March 21, 2015

South Rd was dry and beautiful and devoid of cars and I climbed with pleasure to the top, then turned around and flew back down again and back along the Reservoir St and Olean St then into the Thickly Settled and the great hills.

From the base of South Rd looking across to the reservoir

The confluence of South Rd and Reservoir St

South Rd heading up

Summary: About 22 miles and plenty of climbing, another 1500'+ day. A good mixture of city, neighborhood, and forest, the classic Reservoir Run.

Parting Shot

WAM

Reservoir Run

There will surely be a lot of reservoir runs in the coming months and years, one or another iteration of it makes the most sense for riding out of town especially when departing from the west side to begin with. Today, I ironed out the uncertainties that remained after the previous exploratory search for the Neighborhood Passage. I now know how to get to the base of the reservoir without having to traverse any section of the Bug Bummers, Pleasant St, May St, and Chandler St.

The other upside (literally) is the climbing. Along the new route are several pretty significant climbs and today I felt strong doing them. Atop the first good climb of the day is, of course, Bancroft Tower, my adopted good luck monument.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Then it was off through the warrens of residential housing along quiet sandy streets and stark hardwood trees without foliage, up up and away on Moreland St, then zip down Copperfield Rd, a right a left a right a left and BOOM, it's Mower St and the long gradual incline up to the southern tip of the reservoir where the road climbs west and hugs the left side all the way to the Y intersection with South Rd and the northernmost point of the still-frozen body of water.

Dubstoevsky at the northern end

I take in the wonderful climb up South Rd, there are never any cars on the mile+ narrow climb that goes through forest and then classic New England hillside farm landscape, with fields and stonewalls and old buildings defining the view.

Still plenty of snow in the hills

Then the climb up Bailey Rd to Putnam Rd and, unfortunately, a long blast on busy Salisbury St, several miles at least, to get back to the west side, to Beechmont St and one more climb past the Tower for good measure, then home.

Summary: A pretty sunny day, mid 40s, not super mild but pleasant enough. 19+ miles, 1545 ft of climbing.  Not bad for a Monday.

Exploring Alternative Routes

March 12, 2015. Bright, clear, and windy. Utterly blue sky. Above freezing but chilly. The good thing about the wind is that it dries the roads but the downside is that it makes a sunny day feel cold. Not to mention the unpleasantness of riding into a headwind.

Ah, but riding at all, headwind or no, is a good thing after the enforced sloth of winter.

Today I opted to explore an alternative route out of the city, one that would, I hope, keep me off the main roads (Pleasant St, May St, Chandler St) and ultimately deliver me to Mower St, the gateway to the Reservoir Run. I printed off a page of google maps and headed out.

First, a run through the neighborhood that included an assault on George St and a climb up to Bancroft Tower. The Tower is becoming something of a friend, a talismanic pass-by, a hulking stone edifice of enduring dignity. I realized that I must photograph it every time I climb up to it.

March 12, 2015

Then it was off into neighborhood and cul de sac, into the Thickly Settled. The thing about Woo City, the city of the fabled seven hills, is that even in the neighborhoods you can encounter some serious climbing. It's funny, there's a guy I follow on Strava that rides in the Woo and though he rides a lot (more than I), I note that he never does any hill work. He'll ride 10 miles and attain 300 ft elevation at best. What's up with that? I think. If I ever meet him, I'm going to razz him for being a flats weanie. I ride 10 miles in the 'hoods and I'm over 1000 ft of climbing.

Today was a case in point. When all was said and done, I'd exceeded 1500 ft of climbing in 17.5 miles. And the hills I encountered weren't gradual grinds either, they were steep nut crackers and heart pounders. I loved it.

The bummer about exploratory rides like today's, though, is that there's a lot of stopping and map-looking. It's all about finding one street that will get you to the next street that connects to a street that crosses up and over a massive hill and puts you in position to pick up another street that will take you through a residential backwater but spit you out on a road that connects to another road that ........ you get the idea.

So while I expected it to be slightly tedious and time-consuming to get me to Mower St it ended up taking longer than I'd hoped. I finally did get there and kicked it into high gear and hammered toward the Reservoir. Unfortunately, I used up too much time in the exploration phase of the ride so that by the time I got to the tip of the reservoir it was getting late. Plus, the wind off the frozen expanse of water was vicious and I was getting cold so I paused to assay my situation.

The pause at the tip of the reservoir

I could have pressed on and had my way with South Rd but I opted to turn back, to retrace the very route I'd just ridden. I told myself that today's ride was about finding new means of egress, and I accomplished that. Returning the way I'd come would familiarize myself with the route. Plus, I'd have to climb those beastly hills again. It was the right decision. Now I know how to get myself out to Mower St without having to traverse the desultory May St or the wickedly busy Pleasant St, and I know that I'll log a lot of climbing to boot.

Finally, one of the great things about the west side neighborhoods of the Woo (traditionally the wealthier neighborhoods) is the number of huge old trees that remain. Whether it was a conscious decision to preserve the trees during the building years or not, we are graced with an abundance of graceful giants. Beech trees seem to be particularly prevalent, those wonderful old knotty souls with trunks like elephant hide, and I love them with a visceral passion.

Beech tree off Salisbury St

A venerable giant

Summary:  Ride #8 of 2015, 17.5 miles, 1556 ft of elevation gain. Felt strong on the hills. The roads weren't that wet today, though there's still a lot of melting to come.

Let the Melting Begin

The melting has begun in earnest and I'm elated. Not to mention the spiritual balm that comes with the warming temperatures.

I overestimated how comfortably warm the today actually was and opted for only two long sleeves of the three layers. That proved an ill choice as I ended up sweating early, getting totally damp inside the heavy duty cold weather top layer, and then feeling slightly chilled as the day went on and the weak sun disappeared into gauzy gloaming.

But it was alright because I did have the paper bag staunching the cold against my chest and I never actually got cold in a "fuck, this sucks" sort of way.

And today I finally got out of the neighborhoods and into the wilds beyond the city limits. I did start with a loop through the Elm Park neighborhood; up William St, around to Lincoln Sq., onto Institute St through WPI, across Park Ave and up the utterly brutal climb of Farnum St. Why the Seven Hills Wheelmen sponsor the George St. Challenge instead of the Farnum St challenge, I don't know because the climb up Farnum to Bancroft Tower is longer, just as steep, and then gets demonstrably steeper at the very top. A truly savage, stand-and-hammer climb.

Bancroft Tower, March 10, 2015

Instead of sticking to a neighborhood ramble, I opted to forge outward and see if the road conditions allowed a dash for the Holden Reservoir. June St was okay but after turning onto the heavily-trafficked May St with its two lanes of cars and in a state of winterized disrepair I wondered momentarily if I'd made a mistake. There was broken pavement, pot holes, excessive water, and the lanes were still narrowed by encroaching snow banks. In short, it sucked but I told myself not to be a baby and to ride it out, that once I was beyond Tatnuck and onto Mower St hurtling toward the Holden line I would be okay. So it proved to be.

Ah! A revelation. THIS is what it's like to roll along without having to traverse intersections and worry about city congestion. I actually got into a decent cadence and zipped along at a pretty good clip, feeling strong in the effort.

Holden Reservoir

What I'd forgotten about before setting out, even though I knew it was a melty day, was the amount of water there would be on the road surfaces. All the roads are still bordered with tall snow banks and as it melts there's nowhere for the water to drain so it puddles up and spills across the tarmac. Plus, along the more forested roads outside the city, particularly along Holden Reservoir and South Rd, the air temperature was noticeably cooler coming off the snow pack (that's when I started to be chilled). Occasionally I would pass through a warm air pocket but mostly it was chilly in the country.

South Rd., going up

The climb up South Rd. was as sweet as always; long, car-free, and just steep enough to be challenging. I loved it.

One note. My bike computer is on the fritz (dead battery) and that bummed me out at first. I'm a statistics freak. What's my average speed? How far have I gone? How fast am I going? But as I rode without it (I even took the display console off the bike) I started to think it was a good thing to be without it. I wasn't constantly looking down to check my speed. Instead, I focused more on my actual pedaling, I paid closer attention to how I actually felt in the process. I may not even replace the battery. I have Strava to track my ride and give me an overall mileage so I may just let the computerized monitoring go. We'll see.

In the end, I notched a shade over 20 miles and was happy with my effort.

Ride summary: 20+ miles, 1200+ ft elevation gain, over 90 minutes in the saddle.

Above Freezing

The major streets of Woo City are still narrow'd, still encroached upon by uncleared snow mounds, barely acceptable for riding.  The neighborhood side streets are still ice-rutted and many are now studded with emerging pot holes. Occasional cars remain buried in sooty curb side snow tombs.

Chestnut St, Sunday, March 8, 2015

But the temperature rose above freezing today, into the 40s, and it was Sunday and I have been idle since January 22nd, since the onset of a long stretch of relentless Siberianesque snow and cold, and I was keen to ride again. So I did. But with much caution and on a limited route. Woo City's famed St. Patrick's Day parade commandeered Park Ave from 11:00 AM on and generated not only an influx of cars and traffic but also several street closures & detours. In consequence, the ride I'd envisioned - zipping in a loop criterium-style through familiar neighborhood streets - was impossible to do. I had to improvise.

Park Ave

The thing is, the Rasputitsa is a little over a month away and I am unprepared. I have done nothing by way of training since January and I am overweight and out of shape. The thought that I could still train hard enough and achieve a modicum of conditioning suitable to undertake that epic ride without anguish and regret is almost absurd. Who knows when I'll be able to ride again after today (Daylight Savings Time notwithstanding)? A lot of melting will have to take place in a short period of time and I will have to seize every opportunity if I am to have any hope of getting in good enough shape to ride the Rasp. I am not hopeful.

Still, it was nice to get out today, to turn the pedals, to get the heart pumping and the soul vibrating from the revolving wheels.

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down
You can't let go and you can't hold on
You can't go back and you can't stand still
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will

Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?
Won't you try just a little bit harder
Couldn't you try just a little bit more? *

Of course I could try just a little bit harder, just a little bit more, we all could. But this winter has been punishing, relentless, unmerciful. And I have pitied myself and retreated indoors and practiced righteous gluttony and indolence with abandon. I have spent long hours in hot baths, I have drunk dark Belgian double ales and sluiced hoppy local IPAs, I have conjured wondrous meaty feasts from the freezer larder.

The Way

But maybe now the tide is turning. Maybe Dubstoevsky will once again renounce hedonism in favor of honed purpose. Maybe winter will now recede as quickly as it erupted upon us in late January. Who can tell the future?

Waiting for Fate to sort itself out

Summary: Ride 6, almost 10 miles, 639 feet of elevation gain.

* lyrics from "The Wheel" by the Grateful Dead