Ride Report: Mass Pike Bike - Day 1

14 Aug 2008.
I arrived at the departure location just before 7am to a very nearly empty parking lot. In a short amount of time, people started filling the lot (primarily the support staff at first). Everyone was required to signed in, gave emergency contact information, and receive their cue sheets, as well as a map of each day's route. Also available were basic breakfast fixings, such as donuts, bagels, bread, peanut butter, and fresh fruit.

0740 - Unpacking cars under a clear sky

After some milling around, waiting for people to arrive, unpack, socialize, etc. everyone was welcomed to the ride and we were given basic instructions (use "car up," "car back" for approaching cars, "passing left" when passing a slower cyclist, etc) and then broken up into our respective distances.

The 30 & 50 mile riders would have official group leaders and SAG support, whereas the 65 riders would only have SAG support. (The thought being most longer distance riders, read more experienced, don't want to be tethered by a group leader). There was one complaint about this decision (a 65 who would have proffered a group leader), and the organizers acknowledged it and commented they were looking into offering that as on option next year (2008 was the 2nd year this ride had been run).

In the 65 miler meeting, our SAG support driver, Doug, went over the cue sheet and added some last minute touches (this is your 1st left, your water stop is here, etc.). He also reiterated feedback, both positive and negative was extremely desired.

There were no plans for a mass exodus, so when the first group assembled I jumped right on their wheels. Furthermore, on of the organizers was going to be in this group. I assumed I wouldn't have to worry with my cue sheet, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Two hundred feet into the ride, I knew I was going to be in trouble. I was riding my trusty '05 Bianchi Volpe with full fenders, rack, and panniers (read: not a light/fast bike). Needless to say, going 24+mph on the flat was not something I was going to be able to do for very long.

The second problem, which would show up later, was the staff member in our group hadn't put together the 65 mile ride, he had put together the 50. Meaning he didn't know the route any better than us. Combine this with the fact that the pace setters ride in that area, meant they thought they knew better than the cue sheet.

That's not to say the sheets were perfect, far from it. Cue sheets in Massachusetts are always hampered by the fact that every street does not have a sign, and names change on straightaways.

So we blaze out of the school parking lot in a fast paceline and three miles later, double back to rejoin the tour, after turning right when we should have turned left.

After that blazing start we settled into a speed somewhere in the 18-22mph range. Still outside my comfort zone, but far closer. At one quick light, we awarded sprinters points to whomever could reach a construction sign first (6pts - Arnie, 4pts - Fred, 2pts - Jack). 5 miles or so after that sprinting fun, I realized I was going to be in real trouble soon.

There was a short steep hill and everyone in the group down shifted to spin up the hill. I don't like spinning, so I picked a large gear and powered up the hill and right into a massive Oxygen deficit, I simply could not get enough O2 into my lungs. Fortunately steady breathing and an easing back of the pace fixed that problem for me, the gap I had built up was sufficient for me to return to form.

Needless to say, when we hit the serious climbs around mile 30, I was dropped pretty quickly, having expended far to much energy early on. By this point my average speed was 18.8 mph. At the finish it would be 13.0 (this due in part to the first half of the rides numbers being accidentally wiped out in a cyclecomputer mishap).

Fundamentally there were three groups of 65 milers on day 1. The self proclaimed "A-team," which I was struggling to ride with, consisting of 6 strong riders and me. The so called "B-team" consisting of a larger group of riders, not as fast, but much more consistent (we passed them 3 or 4 times that first day). And finally Team Arizona consisting of two ladies wearing AZ jerseys (more on them later).

At one point passing the "B-team," there was an acceleration I just could not keep up with, so I paced the "B-team" through some light climbs and flats before shuffled to the back on the harder climbs. Until eventually, I was shuffled right off the back.

Before you get the wrong idea, every group I've mentioned would wait up for slower members; however at some point you have to right the stragglers off. And when it starts to rain, that window of time becomes infinitely small.

Ya, It rained. Big time.

Coming into Mendon, the skies were threatening, so much so I took my rain gear out, and put my cue sheet in a plastic bag. Lucky timing too, as the skies opened up soon after. Thunder, lightening, the works.

And it is at this point that I am dropped for the last time. I solo navigated to the Whitinsville camp just in time for the rain to stop. Which is perfect tent pitching weather.

All in all a good ride, very tiring. All my training to date had been on distance, not on speed so asking my body to start out that fast was going to have consequences, which it did, I slowed down.

I knew after arriving at camp that I wasn't going to be going with that group again. I figured I'd join the B-team, since their pace seemed closer to my training paces I figured I'd be ok. But, it was a chance meeting at dinner that changed those plans.

I was standing behind one of the members of team AZ as she was relating a story to the person in front of her. I don't recall the details, but I believe she was relating how she was stopping and taking pictures while other groups were just motoring on. I joined in the conversation, echoing that sentiment. Ultimately, we decided to team up on the next day.

A word on the food, before I end this massive post. Awesome. Arnie, whom you may recall from the A-team green jersey competition, has ridden many similar tours and said, without doubt, the food on this tour was the best. This day it was salad fixings, mac & cheese, cole slaw, corn bread, beans and rice, and massive BBQ. Pulled pork, pulled chicken, and ribs galore. Tre bein

Distance:  64.6 miles
Climbing:   2777 ft
Ave Speed: 18.8 / 13.0
Max Speed: ? / 35.8 mph
Time: ?

Cycle-computer reset mid-trip

Ride Report - Palmer -> Millis, MA

The whole point of yesterday's and today's ride was to serve as a dry run for the tour. To that end, one of the requirements was to sleep on my sleeping pad & bag to see how my body reacted. Would it be sore, how sore, etc.

When I woke up, I was a little sore, but nothing sitting and stretching didn't fix (a pleasant surprise). I packed up, had half a powerbar for breakfast, mixed my energy drinks, and headed out early.

When planning these rides, I had plotted a alternative route home, so I was able to avoid most of route 20. The price? A rather long hill climb and descent. (see below).

From Map My Ride

Normally, I thrive on hill/descent combinations, however on this ride I was unable to truly enjoy them. Where I spent the night had a rather steep driveway. So steep in fact the driveway had a switchback. First thing in the morning, with cold legs, I picked too large a gear and forced my way up that hill. A decision my right knee did not appreciate. So from hour one on my knee complained every time it was asked to do any real effort. This meant I had to ascend in extremely low gears and coast on every descent. At one point, it was so bad I unclipped my right shoe and one leg pedaled to get some fluidity in my pedaling.

On the bright side, after hour three or so the babying and stretching paid off the knee was nearly 60%. In other words, I was able to pedal normally in the midrange (large gears were still out) and served as confirmation that this pain was not a warning of serious damage.

Distance:  64.77 miles
Ave Speed: 12.6 mph
Max Speed: 37.9 mph
Time: 5 hours 7 minutes 49 seconds

Ride Report - Millis -> Palmer, MA

For most of this year, I have been focusing on making sure I was prepared for the Mass Pike Bike tour. The idea of doing four days of back to back 65 mile rides, camping in between, concerned me.

Slowly, over the past few months, I have been building my strength up: Increasing the distance, adding weight (to simulate the weight I would be carrying during the tour). This weekend's ride was designed to provide a first look at whether or not my preparations were sufficient.

So, at around noon on Saturday (02 August 2008), I loaded the bike up (as seen below) and headed out.

My Volpe with 15lbs of kit. Tent, Sleeping pad, sleeping bag, clothes, rain gear, food, etc.

The route I had plotted to follow (see below) was a mix of places I had gone, wanted to go, and would go on the tour.

From Map My Ride

When I left home, the clear sky was beginning to cloud up. I knew rain was inevitable (radar had it at the MA/NY border), but I was optimistic I could beat it to Palmer, or have it miss me entirely. The key was going to be to keep moving at a steady (if not rapid) clip. Just over 6 miles in, that plan was blown.

Coming down a minor descent (to a stop sign), the harmonics of the decent were such to dislodge the tent from the back rack. Not good. 15 minutes of fiddling I came upon the correct way to secure the tend and sleeping pad (strap them down, looping the sleeping bag's straps on the loops).

For the next two hours, the ride was fairly ordinary. Nothing amazing, interesting, or dangerous occurred, save the clouds getting more and more ominous.

Then, in the middle of Douglas State Park, the first drops hit me. I did my best pro-peloton impression by putting the jersey on without stopping (all the while hearing Phil Liggett in my head saying, "Don't try this at home kids, these are professionals.")

The jacket was great. Prior to the rain the temperature had dropped considerably and I was getting a bit chilled. The jacket provided enough upper body warmth to make things comfortable. Of course, as I progressed west, deeper into the storm, that comfort became very relative.

Not much to say about riding through the storm, just a few observations:

1. Use a rear light when riding in the rain - The way I had packed my gear made it impossible for me to mount by rear blinky. This made rain travel very dangerous. Cars without lights on disappeared into the rain in less than 200ft, so I knew I was invisible to traffic. Reflective material only works if the car luminates them.


2. Fenders only do so much - No fender is going to protect you from spray when you are descending at 30mph in the runoff. Furthermore, in that situation there is nothing you can do to prevent your shoes from getting soaked (save wear booties/shoe covers).


3. The cops in Dudley are cool - The first phase of nasty rain had passed as I rolled through this town. One of the officers gave me a sharp salute as I passed, which I thought was very cool.


4. Never assume a road has a breakdown lane - When I set the route up, I assumed Route 20 would have a breakdown lane. For most of the road the speed limit is 55 and has two lanes in each direction, for all intents and terms a highway. Guess what. I doesn't have a breakdown lane. So after 50 miles of riding, this soaked rider had to take a whole lane on a highway and deal with the consternation of passing motorists. Fortunately, the rain had stopped and traffic was light, so no one even had to slow down to pass me, just pop in the next lane.


5. Google Maps doesn't warn you about bridge closures - 62 Miles in, as I approached one of my turns, I was greeted with the dreaded "Bridge Out" sign. Tired, I stop and read the two paragraph long detour instructions. At that point I decide to give it a go, the bridge must be out for car weight, a bike and rider can't be too much for it right? I coast down to the metal grate bridge, lift the bike over the concrete barriers, and slowly walk it across. At the halfway point the bridge begins to creak under our combined weight; at which point I make a mental note ("In future, abide by bridge closure warnings").

All in all a good ride. Physically the ride wasn't that physically demanding, although slowing down during the rain storms probably ensured that fact.

Distance:  67.78 miles
Ave Speed: 13.2 mph
Max Speed: 32.7 mph
Time: 5 hours 6 minutes 59 seconds