Transitions

I took twelve days off, not necessarily by choice but by circumstance. Among other things, I had this to deal with:

Supposed to be two cords; whether it was or not, it was a lot to put away

Hauling and storing this winter's firewood took the better part of a weekend.

But I finally got back on the bike and had a terrific late afternoon ride on Tuesday the 27th. We are at the tail end of fall foliage but there was still ample color to enjoy while cruising through the neighborhoods.

Dubstoevsky in yellow

Not just in the neighborhoods. Zooming along the reservoir offered awesome views of the autumn sublime.

Holden Reservoir, October 27, 2015

Zoomed in

The good news from the reservoir is that the bridge that is being worked on can now be crossed by bicycles. Cars still have to detour up South Rd but a cyclist can now choose to go around the head of the reservoir right to Bailey Rd or onward to the top of Reservoir Drive.

Because I enjoy the South Rd climb so much, I did the climb, then turned around and sped back to the reservoir where I encountered two cyclists heading across the bridge. I followed them and made a decent effort to catch them, but failed. Later, Strava flyby details showed them to be Mike Myers and Erik Olson from Worcester. These lads evidently ride a lot more than I do and it's no surprise I was unable to reel them in. Turns out they are denizens of Woo City.

Fellow Strava lads from Woo City

They ended up heading further into Holden while I peeled off onto Bailey Rd and turned my wheels back toward the Woo. I took in Bancroft Tower before returning to Team Shad HQs.

Autumn Tower October 27, 2015

Daylight's saving time kicks in this coming weekend so it's likely that my weekday afternoon rides are numbered. As the Mighty Scrod in Frankfurt has already gotten off his bike for the season and is now focusing on stretching and yoga, I may be forced to follow his example.

Prime Days

It's prime time now. Terrific riding days. Pristine October New England days filled with blue skies, sharp sun, crisp air, clean vistas exploding in color.

Since nearly being taken out by the hawk on October 4th, I've ridden seven times. Fantastic afternoons after work storming the Reservoir, dancing up the cat 4 climb to the Airport, logging the Big Miles with El Virginian, noble Team Shad mate, on new roads in the Athol hills.

Unlike Herr Scrod in the German gloaming who suggests that "the season is nearing its end," here in the land of Shad we are gathering our tights and silky under things, our gloves and head warmers, our extra layers, we are clamping lights to our handlebars and celebrating the onset of autumn's capricious yet magical weather.

The truth is, I'm more than ready for colder rides. It's funny, when spring and summer comes and I can finally ride in shorts and a short-sleeved jersey, I'm always psyched. But then summer becomes a myriad of humid, sweaty rides and after a point I get tired of being slathered in a slick sunscreen sheen, perspiration running into my eyes. I want the crisper air, the snap and chill, the little shivery hum of setting out just on the edge of cold.

Plus, there is something about donning the layers of the cyclist's costume that appeals, a certain Boy Scout-ish or ninja-like sense of order and preparedness. I find plenty of satisfaction in assembling just the right kit, the perfectly-chosen layers to maintain a balanced, not-too-hot-and-not-too-cold temperature throughout a ride.

On the visual front, October marks the transition from the lush, green expanses of summery fullness to the psychedelic landscapes of orange, red, and yellow that presage the somber dun hues to come. October is the month of imps and sprites and woodland fairies, the last whimsical days of abundance when the great hoary hardwoods assume the garb of jesters for a few final weeks before shedding their whimsy and hunkering down for the long freeze.

Photo Gallery of the Last Seven Rides

Airport Paxton Loop October 5th

Woo City Airport Summit

Dubstoevsky falling into space

Holden Loop October 6th

Fecund but fading

Paxton Kettle Brook Loop October 8th

Getting out of the Woo

Lemonstar State Forest to Mt. Wachusett Summit Loop October 10th

Team Shad car

Lucas Rd, Princeton

Approaching Mt. Wachusett

Busy day on the summit

Team Shad Training Ride with The Virginian October 12th
Montague Shutesbury Wendell Orange Athol Warwick Northfield Sunderland

The Virginian setting the pace through Wendell

North Orange

October's bright blue sky

Sunderland, not Bordeaux

The French King Bridge

The final climb of the day

Shadows of the Dub

Reservoir Loop October 13th

On the fly

Reservoir Loop October 15th

Return to the Woo

Add Hawk

I was almost taken out by a hawk. I have no picture of the incident because it all happened very quickly.

At around the eighteen mile mark of what ended up a 22 mile ride, I was cruising along in a meditative, eyes-ahead state of relaxed tunnel vision on a recently paved road when, out of the corner of my eye I saw movement. My immediate interpretation of the motion was "newspaper blowing in gusty wind."

It was a gusty day after all, a blustery sun & cloud afternoon, a classic Sunday in early October New England.

But it wasn't a newspaper.

The moment unfolded rapidly. From the instant I noticed the movement, to the synapse firing in my brain that immediately tried to decipher the movement, to the point at which I actually realized what was happening and responded, was nearly instantaneous.

The newspaper was actually a hawk on the sidewalk (later I supposed it had made a play for a local squirrel or perhaps a house sparrow, flocks of which cavort in the hedges and the lot edges of neighborhoods all over Woo City). It was trying to take off, and the movement I saw as I was nearly abreast of it was it hopping & flapping to get some lift-off. By the point at which I realized with crystal clarity what was really happening, I had already instinctively reacted and ducked.

The hawk lofted into flight with a mighty lunge and barely missed my hunched shoulder as I raced past. Less than a second of reaction time separated cyclist-knocked-to-pavement-by-raptor and
holy-shit-near-collision-with-hawk. We both got away with our dignity.

Parting Shot

Kendall Reservoir, Holden, MA
October 4, 2015

Double Flat and the Transition from Summer to Brrrrr

The inevitable transformation from summer to fall is underway and scenes like the one on Tuttle Rd from a September 27 ride from Woo City to Lemonstar may be done for the year.

Tuttle Rd, Princeton hills, September 27, 2015

The afternoon light fades quickly and now, just three days into October, the day is wet, overcast, blustery and raw, 55 degrees. No ride for me today. And only one this week, though it was almost two.

Unfortunately, on what was going to be my last Monday night ride of the season with the Barney Crew, I double flatted just 5 miles into it. Which really sucked because the previous week there'd been only six guys (me included) and we'd had an excellent ride, strong and fast. I was on form and rode well, once again surging up South Rd and beating everyone to the top, then holding my own the rest of the way.

Hitting the Reservoir at speed
September 21, 2015

So flatting out and having to call Shad HQs for a ride home was a dispiriting way to end the season with the crew.

I have had more flats in the last two months than I've had in all my years of cycling. I attribute it to the crappy, low end Continental tires I bought mid-summer. Four flats have resulted from the tiniest shard of glass penetrating the tire's thin rubber skin. In the case of Monday night's double-fuck, the glass shard wasn't found by Peter the bike store owner who, for the sake of speed, changed my tire for me. He ran his finger several times around the inside of the tire before replacing the tube and felt nothing.  But once we set out, within 5 minutes I was flat again. At that point, I insisted the other 4 guys leave me behind and finish the ride. Which they did.

Only the next day, changing the tube again, did I find the minuscule glass piece stuck in the outer flesh of the tire. Only with pressure on it would it poke through to the tube. I vowed never to buy cheap tires again.

Tire changed, Tuesday afternoon the 29th offered one more sweet day of Indian Summer warmth and I took advantage of it to re-visit the ride I abandoned the night before. Oh, and I actually took the crappy tire off the rear wheel (all four flats have been rear tires) and replaced it with the used high end Conti that had been my front tire which was not terribly worn but which I'd replaced (foolishly, it turns out) with the aforementioned lousy low end option.

The ride turned out to be a sweet one, uneventful, no flats, plenty of sun, I felt strong and ripped it up for a twenty mile loop, capping it off with an assault on good old Bancroft Tower.

Bancroft Tower, September 29, 2015

A few final thoughts on the Monday night crew. During the peak of summer riding season the group can get pretty big, 20 to 30 people of varying ability, and the vibe is pretty much every rider for himself. Not a lot of camaraderie. If you don't make it through an intersection, no one waits. If you have a mechanical, you're on your own.

So when I flatted last Monday, I had no expectations that anyone would wait. In fact, we were six of us flying along, me at the end of the train, and when I knew I had a flat, I called out instinctively "Yo! I flatted out!" Everyone sat up, slowed, then turned around and rode back to me.

Surprised and grateful but also not wanting to be a drag, I said to everyone "I'm good, I'll take care of it, no need to wait for me, get on with the ride while it's still light." But they ignored that.

Instead, Peter got off his bike and, as mentioned, set to changing my tire with a bike mechanic's speed. Someone else handed me their pump (much better than my own) and, while I struggled to inflate the tire, another guy came over and helped support the rim while I pumped away.

Maybe it was the fact that we were just six people and it would have been overtly cold to simply abandon me. Maybe, given the spirited rides the previous two weeks in which I'd been a pivotal challenger and a lead out man, they wanted to keep me around for the competition. Or maybe they were all just empathetic cyclists who wouldn't leave one of their own stranded.

So despite having such bad luck on almost certainly the last Monday night ride of the season, I actually felt quite touched by the generosity of spirit showed by each guy. In fact, Peter even left me his spare tube after my second flat in the event I couldn't reach anyone at HQ and had to try to change it again.

Parting Shots

The canal alongside the parking lot of the bike shop

The parking lot behind Barney's where we gather before the ride

Postscript

I stopped by the bike shop the next day on my ride out of town and returned the unused tube that Peter had left with me. I told him I doubted I'd be along the next week given how dark it is now when the ride ends. He said that he might organize a Monday evening "City ride" which, apparently, is a similar group ride but one that traverses city neighborhoods rather than heading out to the dark forested roads around the reservoir. The city streets are more or less lit enough to ride on after dark, particularly as most riders have lights.

So, though the reservoir group ride is over (at least for me) until next year, I would definitely take part in a Monday evening city ride until it becomes too cold. I hope this comes to pass because there is actually a lot of good riding through the neighborhoods, and plenty of climbing to boot.