The Suitcase of Courage

Mailbox Tales

This mailbox has a story to tell - you know it by the little flag that's raised.  I took this picture early one recent Friday morning.  That's the sunrise coming through the trees.  It was through that sunrise that our story began.

You see, I often - though certainly not as often as I should - wake up extra early on a Friday morning to meet the guys for the Friday Morning Throwdown (FMTD) ride.  They come from the north and materialize through that sunrise as they ride down my street.  Since it's a "throwdown" they come down my street pretty fast, so I usually - though not always - try to get out ahead of them so I can at least warmup.

After missing each other a couple times (once I waited, not knowing they'd already gone past; once they waited, not knowing I'd already left), we decided on this simple, yet effective, signal:

Whoever gets to my mailbox first, puts up the flag.

Once we began to rely on this signal, it made for a couple of funny situations.  Once, a friend met me in my driveway before the ride and, being distracted, he and I headed out - forgetting the flag.  After waiting down the road - for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time - the guys finally showed up.  They'd been soft-pedaling thinking I was behind them.  Ooops!

Another time, I was coming out of my garage just as two guys flew past.  My first thought was - boy, only two guys - small group today.  My second thought was - HEY!  they didn't put up the flag!  So I put my helmet on, clipped in and chased for all I was worth.  I finally caught them about a mile later, me all breathless and dripping sweat.  You guessed it - they weren't FMTD guys.  The redness of my face wasn't just from over exertion.  But we had a good laugh about it.  And the guys eventually caught up with us (toodling again, since I hadn't bothered putting up the flag before chasing).

This morning presented a new variant, but it was my own d----d fault.  With all the crappy weather lately and not having ridden much, I'd been looking forward all week to doing the FMTD and riding into work afterwards.  The forecast was perfect.  I got home at a decent time last night despite working late.  I even woke up on my own, 30 minutes before my 5:30 alarm - sun streaming in through the windows.

But I stayed in bed, going 'round and 'round and 'round in my head, weighing all my options and not at all motivated for a hard ride, much less riding almost 60 miles by the time I got to work.  No motivation.  I needed sleep.  I needed to ride.  Etc. etc.  Many of you may know this drill.  I even made a couple false starts, only to get back under the warm blankets, snuggling up to the Mrs.  That certainly was nicer than the prospect of having my legs ripped off and fighting cars all the way to Hartford. 

It was too late though.  I was wide awake and there were no excuses that would let me really, truly off the hook.  I got up one last time and started getting ready.

Not quick enough, as it turned out.  Either my clocks are just a wee bit slow or the FMTD was a wee bit fast this morning, but I saw the guys go past my living room window just as I was picking up the bike to head out.  NOOOOOO!!!!!!  One kind soul did stop to put up the flag (bless him), but my raising the garage door wasn't enough to stop any of them - they probably didn't even see it.  I saw one straggler - who I thought might be Tim (though why he was OTB I couldn't imagine) and yelled his name.  To no avail.  I was going to have to chase.

Just as the garage door closed I realized I left my CatEye on the living room table.  Usually, this is not a problem.  I had my Garmin.  Problem is - my Garmin mount's retaining tab is broken off and the CatEye holds the Garmin in.  I opened the garage door and went back for the CatEye.

Now I really had to chase - and chase I did, going full gas from my driveway until I caught "Tim" almost 2 miles later, nobody else in sight.  Turned out it wasn't Tim at all, but fellow FMTD-er JoeD.  The guys were "just ahead," though I couldn't see them.  I told Joe to get on my wheel and we'd try to catch up.

Going all out, we didn't see them until we turned onto Great Hammock's long straightaway - and they were a LONG way off still.  I still had illusions that we could catch them, but by the time we reached the 4-way stop (which, as it happens, marks the start of the "FMTD Leadout & Causeway Sprint" Strava segment (ARGH!)), we realized we'd never catch them.  We pulled the plug, turned left on Maple, and went from "Rescue" to "Recovery."  Now, all we could do is try and intercept.

We finally met up in North Cove, huzzahs all around and with stories to share.  It certainly didn't seem funny to me as my heart & stomach were in my throat while chasing, but in the cool light of the morning and in the presence of the rest of the gang (finally), the persistence of my pre-dawn procrastination was pretty hilarious.  I'd certainly paid the penalty and was happy to noodle along and follow wheels for the rest of the ride.

Once we all got back to Chester, we said our goodbyes and offered good wishes for a great weekend and Father's Day.  Strongman ShawnM (aka el Presidente), accompanied me as far north as his place in Higganum and then I was alone.  Except for a mile or two when my path crossed with Joan, riding to work as well, who I'd met a couple summers ago during a home-bound commute.  It was nice to see her again.

I had to do the usual car-dodging and traffic-fighting through Middletown and part of Cromwell.  But after that, due to my new-found northbound alternate (thanks to JeffM), it was all farmland and cool breezes.  Actually, a pretty stiff headwind, but whatever.

I remembered while lying in bed, debating whether or not to get up and ride, saying to myself: "Just do it - you've never regretted it and if you regret it today, just don't bother doing it again."  Well, as you can see from the pic above - typical scenery along my alternate - it was a gorgeous morning.  I got to see some friends - some unexpectedly - and I finally got a Friday ride in again.  No regrets.

Here's to the beginning (finally) of summer, to long rides, fast races, and time with friends.  Let me know if you're in the area, and I'll hook you up with some of the best riding around.  But come next Friday morning, if you see my mailbox flag up, you'll know I've already left.

******

For the more numbers-minded, here are the stats - in all their gory detail, including the warmup/chase.

Week In Review:Commuting & Racing

(Ok, this is another long post.  Seems to be feast or famine around here these days.  Of course, it's ALL well worth reading, but you may wanna dose your effort and break it up.  For your convenience, I've split it in thirds)

It's been another nice post-session week.  I love this time of year. After the crazy work schedule of the last few months, it's nice to catch up with some stuff around the house, throttle back a little bit, and enjoy the summer.  At least until special session starts this Thursday (long story why - you either know already, or you don't wanna know).  And it's been a very rainy summer so far - not great for the training - so ya gotta enjoy the nice days when you can!

First Commute of 2011

Last Monday and Tuesday were two such days.  Monday's forecast was for "Top Ten-ness" so that finally got me motivated to do my first bike commute of the season:

 

Long-time readers will recognize the route and the elevation profile.  If you want more info, check this out for links, stats and photos.  But the skinny is that it's 42 miles one-way along some of the best looking scenery in Southern New England (at least until you get to the craziness that is Hartford traffic).

The morning ride was made all the better by happening to meet friend ShawnM for part of the way up.  After he peeled of at his place, I saw a doe and two fawns along the road.  There were so stone still I thought they were statutes at first.  Then one of the fawns blinked.  Also met with friend LauraM for the Cromwell to Hartford portion.  Having friends on these long rides is especially nice.

On the way home, I rode solo, and of course there was the inevitable afternoon headwind (and insane Hartford city traffic - ugh!), but I was treated to a little "feed zone" in Wethersfield.  Laura couldn't join me on my southbound ride, but her son Kevin gave me a great baggie of Fig Newtons (and it was a clear ziploc - not a white lunch bag).  The extra snack was certainly nice and appreciated! 

Being Monday evening, and it being on my way, I also happened by the Monday Night Group Ride out of Pedal Power in Middletown.  The timing was perfect, since I got there about 10 minutes before the start.  But, despite the HUGE turnout, I didn't see any familiar faces and, not sure whether their route would be on my way, I went ahead and turned my wheels toward home.

Rentschler Field Tuesday Night Crit

So with 84 miles in on Monday (and the most miles in one day for me so far this year), my legs were pretty tired the next day.  But you know what Tuesday is - RENT RACE!

Yes, every Tuesday night during the summer - weather permitting - one of the local race teams sponsors a "training crit" at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.  These races are a regular staple of the season and are "training" in name only.  The "A" race includes some pretty serious throwin' down.

 

My team EXPO/Superior Energy has pretty solid representation in both B and A races, as you can see from this pic of the start of the A race.  And whether "just training" or not, it's always fun to race with teammates.  I didn't know how I'd do with all those miles in my legs from the previous day, but a training race is the perfect time to experiment.

And one of the other things I like about this race series is how safe it is.  There's nothing but sodas and energy drink on the line, so you don't have generally to worry about any craziness or sketchy riding.

Unfortunately, three laps into the race last week, there was a crash in corner 1 resulting in a broken collarbone for one very promising junior.  The guy in front of him went down, and then over the handlebars Junior went.  Very lousy thing to have happen in any race to anybody, but this was especially tough.  I didn't see first hand what happened, so I don't know what caused the crash.  And as part of my professional training, I know that even when you see something, things may not be what they at first appear.  Suffice it to say that folks shouldn't speculate about what happened - or, worse, spread those speculations - unless they saw it firsthand.  The cameraderie of the Tuesday Night Crit community is too  important to have anybody's reputation undeservedly undermined.  Best to concentrate thoughts, prayers, and energy to the two guys hurt and hope they heal quickly and can rejoin us soon.

Ok.  'nuff said.  Where was I?  Oh, well, after they cleared the track of bikes and ambulances and stuff, the race was restarted.  As is usual this time of year, the weather, and the racing, was hot and fast.  But - surprisingly - my tired legs were able to hang on, though I suspect that wouldn't have been the case if the track was anything but pancake flat.

As I mentioned, we had a bunch of EXPO in the race and we made sure just about every break had one of us in it.  Most of the breaks got chased down, with so many teams willing to just race and race hard.

When one of the prime laps was announced, I was about half-way back and started working my way up.  But it was evident by the back stretch that I wasn't going to make it to the front in time, so I just continued working my way up slowly.

Coincidentally, as the sprint crossed the line, ANOTHER prime bell rang and this time, I was only about 10 guys back - with a lot of folks tired from having just sprinted.  This time, after we passed corner 3, I noticed AC moving up the left side.  I started moving hard up the right side and by the time we got to the sweeping turn 4, he and I were off the front - with him just a bit ahead of me.  I gave it all I had, got him at the line, and went immediately into recovery mode.  He looked over at me with what I thought might have been a look of disgust, but hopefully it was just the look of realization that no way was I going to now initiate a break with him.

It was all I could do at that point to keep from getting dropped.

But I was able to latch back on to the pack and stay in.  At some point around that time, a break got up the road and got a bit of a gap.  I noticed that one - but only one - of our guys was in the break so, after going a bunch of laps and noticing that they weren't gaining too much time, I thought it high time to give my teammate a hand.  Or at least try.

And boy did I try.  I launched and got an immediate gap (a little surprisingly - maybe the pack thought I'd soon blow up) and then, once I made sure I wasn't going to tow anybody, I  TT'd to try and catch the break.

One lap and I was still gaining.  Two laps and through the start/finish they were within probably 50-75 meters.

THEN I blew up.  I just couldn't catch them, so I sat up.  But fortunately I had some time to recover since there was still some distance back to the pack.  I don't know if my attack had anything to do with it (I"d like to think it did), but the rest of the field seemed content to let the break go - or at least realized they weren't gonna be caught.

And they weren't.  In fact, they eventually lapped us.

I needn't have worried about my teammate being alone though.  He attacked the break and got the win.  The rest of us had to content ourselves with a field sprint for 4th place:

 

So BIG PROPS to Cliff for his overall win, and to DaveH for winning the field sprint (seen in the video above).  A great night of racing for EXPO.

 

Ahhhhh..... Another beautiful summer sunset on a Tuesday night at the Rent'...

Keith Berger Criterium - CT State Crit Championships

 

After Tuesday's experiment seeing how I'd race with tired legs, I decided next to see how I'd race on (overly?) fresh legs.  The weather most of the rest of the week was crappy, so I didn't touch a pedal from Tuesday night until yesterday afternoon - at the Keith Berger Memorial Crit/CT State Crit Championships.

Figuring I was in no shape to contend for the State Crit Champ title (and, frankly, if by some stroke of luck I actually did get it, considering my so-called training and form, I wouldn't feel worthy of it), and knowing that friend SDC could only do the Pro1/2/3 race, I decided to jump in the deep end of the bike-racing-pool and mix it up with the big guys, if only to see how long it'd be before they dropped me.

 

Blame this guy.

As I was getting things ready and warming up, they announced that the race was closed - the Berger crit hit a record having filled the PRO field with 100 racers.  One HUNDRED?!  This would be the largest field I'd ever raced in.  And in a little 4 corner crit, no less.

 
No worries - I consoled myself with the fact that there were a few friendly faces in the group, including teammates SDC, DaveH, Cliff, KeithG, and ToddB.

 

Unfortunately, we were spread all over the start-up so Mrs. SOC could only get a shot of Dave.  Of course, as you can see, he's hard to miss.

We did miss him part way through the race though.  After the whistle blew and we went full gas, I decided it'd be best for me to try and at least finish rather than try anything heroic.  So I practiced my pack racing skills and sought as much shelter as possible.  Dave, having raced in the Masters race earlier (and coming in 1st in CT!), and gotten in his "hard training miles" for the day, bowed out early.

 

I though SDC may have bowed out at some point too, since I didn't see him for much of the race - I was too busy concentrating on making sure the number of guys in front of me didn't grow too large.  I didn't dare look over my shoulder at those speeds to see whether I was at the back.  I couldn't turn my head much anyway - my neck was getting stiff from doing such a long race.

Not only was this the largest race I've been in, but I think - at over 40 miles - it's one of the longest.  THE longest crit, for me for sure.  90 minutes, just about full gas.

I was feeling ok though.  And despite worrying a bit about getting dropped, I *did* chase down a break and was at or near the front a few times.  Once I even got on a train that was launching off the front and we got a little gap, but were quickly pulled back in.

That was the way it was for the entire race.  Breaks would try to get away, but they'd eventually be pulled back.  About 1/2 way through the race, I got a pretty bad cramp in my stomach (rookie mistake: I downed a packet of sport beans right before the race, rather than my usual GU.  NEVER do something new on race day) and went back to survival mode.

37 laps down, 8 to go and I see a familar sight go up the right side.  Yup - SDC was still in the race, channeling Robbie McEwan, and started moving up.  I did my best to keep folks off his wheel, but in the argy bargy of the final laps, this was getting more and more difficult.  In fact, with 3 laps left, I was right near the only crash I saw heard.  Of course, it happened in corner 2 (almost all of them do here), but fortunately it was behind me.

The pace continued to ramp up and on the bell lap, heading into corner 2 again, I see SDC shoot up the side.  I figured "that's his Big Move" and that he'd be able to contend the sprint.  Unfortunately, coming down the back stretch, I saw him going backwards, the bazillion hour drive back from Wisconsin the previous day and that morning(!!) finally taking its toll.

I hung in there, and after I made it through the final two corners safely, I figured my mission was accomplished.  I'd made it to the end of my largest & longest race - a P123 race to boot - at the height of the season, and - being the State Championships - with something much more than bottles of water at stake.

Here's what it looked like at the front:

I noticed I just coasted in.  No use sprinting for anything less than 20th place (or even top 10).  As it turned out, even the coasting didn't prevent me from getting a PR in average speed too: 27.7 mph.  That's for over 40 miles of racing.  Whew!

After doing some post-race recap and seeing some other friends, the curtain closed on the 2011 Berger crit and families SDC and SOC went out for some much-needed post-race nutrition.

The best time of the season is when you can race to train and with so many races falling off the calendar (CT Stage Race, Fitchburg, and - the latest I heard - New London), we need to support as many of these races as we can.  I'm not even taking my bike out of the car.  Since tomorrow's forecast is looking good, you'll know where I'll be.

Commuting Contrasts

I rode my bike to/from work again this past Friday.  I've noticed lately that my eating must be outpacing my riding (ahem) - and I'm clearly unwilling to reduce my eating.  Soooo.....

My commute is typically 41 miles each way.  Friday morning though, I decided to tack on some additional miles by joining some friends for their weekly "Rooster Ride."  Problem was, I thought they started 15 minutes later than they did.  Consequently, I missed them and ended up chasing/trying to intercept.  Apparently they were trying to find me too.  It'd be pretty funny to have been up in the sky watching us all miss each other.  I finally caught them in Essex and had a nice ride north - friends Tim, Otto & Shawn keeping me company as far as Middletown.  With the extra miles, I had over 55 when I pulled into the office.

The rides home lately have been all about headwinds and, frankly, with the extra miles in my legs from the morning, I wasn't looking forward too much to fighting the wind home.  But the flags on the Capitol told me winds were favorable and, after checking to make sure a "Northwest" wind acutally blows southeast - just the direction I needed - I decided to stick with my plan and ride home.  I actually had more of a cross/tailwind - but that's still WAY better than a headwind any day - and, without trying too hard, I ended up tying my personal best avg speed home.

The real contrast this past Friday though was the following - a true story:

As I'm ascending the long climb south of Middletown, I see up ahead a big, silver BMW going slowly.  I figure he's looking at house numbers, so I pay little attention as I pedal past him at about 7mph.  But then he speeds up slightly, matching my pace and rolls down the window.  I hope the gal riding shotgun is going to ask me for directions, but I expect I'm going to get chewed out for being on the road, not being on the sidewalk, etc.  You know how it goes.

"HEY! Did you just ride down from Hartford?!"

"Yeah! Crazy huh?"

"Yeah, we saw you on Franklin Avenue.  Can't believe you're the same guy!  Where you headed?"

"Old Saybrook"

I wish I could've got a picture of the expression on his - and the girl's face.  Priceless.

"Man, you ARE crazy!"

We chat like this for a minute or so, at 7-8 mph.  When cars started stacking up behind him, he wished me a good ride.  I'd been apprehensive when I first spotted him, not knowing what he was up to - but he left me with a warm glow, full of benevolent affection for my fellow travelers.

That feeling lasted about 5 minutes.

As I was passing the southbound entrance ramp to Rt. 9, I saw a silver (strange coincidence) SUV coming the other way, driven by an older lady with a younger lady in the passenger seat.  Her signal indicated she wanted to turn left to get on the southbound ramp, so I moved further into the center of the lane to be sure she'd see me.  I coulda swore we made eye contact, but she started to turn anyway.

"Hey!"

She continued to turn.

"HEEEEYYYYYY!!!!!!"  I thanked God He gave me a loud voice - you could hear me WAY above the din of the highway.

Her tires screeched to a stop.  The expression of surprise on her face wasn't priceless.  It was shocking.  She obviously never saw me.  And while, thankfully, she never got that close to me, I was glad I'd avoided a classic "left hook" collision.

The rest of ride home was blissfully uneventful, the wind helping me get home quicker than usual.  When I pulled into the driveway, I realized I'd just missed a century for the day: 55+41=96.  When Mrs. SOC asked me if I wanted to go get the additional miles, I said "nah" wanting to hit the shower and start our evening together.  I'd had enough riding for the day and was glad to be home.

Bicycle Friendly Community Program

Good News: I have a lot of blog fodder coming up - posts on training, nutrition and the upcoming racing season.

Bad News: I've been too busy ramping up for a busy time at work to do anything about it (posting, not work).

It's the paradox of blogging: When you have stuff to write about, it's likely you're too busy to write about it.

However, to offer you a little more regular content, I'll occasionally post things here that are either too long for Twitter (you ARE following me, right? See the right side of this page - I'm @suitcaseocourag), or too general for Facebook.

In my capacity as member of our local town bikeways committee, I often come across cycling-related items & events.  This info is usually more for the general cycling public than for racers, but you should find it always interesting and often helpful.

Earlier this month, the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance hosted a symposium on Bicycle Friendly Communities that included a presentation by Andy Clarke from the League of American Bicyclists.  While you won't get the full flavor of his live presentation, you can get his Power Point slides here (courtesy CRCOG).

The best advice for immediate things a town can do to make itself more bicycle friendly? (quoting from the CRCOG link)

Signage and information:  if you have a trail make sure people know where it is and how to access it.  If you don’t have a trail, sign suitable on road routes.

Develop riding opportunities to encourage folks to get on their bikes and ride.  Don’t start with a 10 or 25 mile ride.  Two to five mile rides are a great start.  Publish routes, or set up informal community rides.  Get folks started!

On your routes or trails, pay careful attention to intersections, these can present real safety hazards.  Consider how bikes and motorists will use the intersections, don’t create unnecessary conflicts.

A Friend In Need

The perfect combination of weather, schedule and motivation has finally conspired to get me back riding my bike to work.  Before this week, I hadn't ridden in since April, after which my job got too busy and then the weather got too crappy to ride.  And while it was very tough getting up Monday morning with the prospect of 85 miles of riding that day, I got on the scale - and looked at the calendar - and got all the motivation I needed.  My next major race is coming up soon and I weigh what I did back in February.  Ugh.

So I rode in on Monday for the first time in a while and noticed a lot of new things.  I need to carry more water.  I see less of the river on my way due to the trees being in full leaf.  The drivers are a little more aggressive/oblivious (or am I just more sensitive?).  One of my regular "rest stops" disappeared.  A couple new buildings were completed.  But the most striking difference is the ride through Wethersfield.  The road I take in is a LOT less shady since the tornado.

Since I want to maximize my miles this week, I decided to ride in to work again today.  Given Monday's effort and last night's tough race, my legs were pretty tired.  But I got on the road 30min earlier than usual and blew through my first rest stop for the first time ever.  Other firsts: I packed a multi-tool (I just adjusted my saddle last night and wanted to be able to dial it in if necessary), and my new frame pump.  As you'll see, these facts came together for the benefit of another long-distance commuter.

Here's how it happened:

I had just started the major climb of the ride

and was going past Seven Falls Park when - BANG! - I heard what I thought was an airgun.  As I climbed around the bend, I saw another cyclist by the side of the road fiddling with his rear wheel.  He'd sliced his tire pretty badly and had just popped his spare tube, having forgotten to boot the tire before inflating it.  MAJOR bummer since he still had a ways to go to get into work,

So was it just dumb luck that I happened along at the critical moment?  Consider the following and tell me that God doesn't look out for us:

It was the first time

• I had left the house that early (way early);
• I didn't need the first rest stop (I always need the first rest stop);
• I carried a pump with me (better than CO2 for moderating pressure);
• I planned on riding the bus on the afternoon trip home (so I could do without my spare tube).

Coincidence?  I don't think so.

And I always have a packet of GU, so making a tire boot from the wrapper was no big deal.  I put in the boot and my tube (despite my bus plans today, maybe I'll start carrying a spare spare) and tried out my new pump (first time ever, no pressure <ha!>).  The pump worked like a champ (watch this space for a future review) and, after putting in enough air to protect his rim - and hopefully prevent a pinch flat - but not so much to blow out the Last Tube In Existence, he was back on the road.

Bonus: I had someone to keep me company on part of my commute in.

Once he peeled off, I continued to pedal northward with the smile and good mood that comes from being able to help a fellow cyclist in need.  I'd certainly want someone to do the same for me - especially if I were in such dire straits, contemplating a long walk, or a call home for a ride with all the inconvenience that entails for *both* parties - and isn't that what The Golden Rule is all about?

Of course, since I had over 20 miles left to go, I was a little worried what would happen if I got a flat on the way.  But I trusted that the same God that had looked out for that guy would look out for me too.  And as it turned out, I made it in to the office with no mishaps and in record time - arriving about the same time I'd planned, despite the pit stop.

You may try to convince me that it was the adrenaline or a tailwind, but I know better.

Additional Tips from my Recent Commute

Long-time readers know that I occasionally ride my bike into work.  If you haven't seen my previous posts on it, be sure to click here, here and here to catch up.

Go ahead.  I'll wait.  Really.  Cuz I'm not going to repeat all that here...

(humdeedumdeedum.....deedum....dee')

Ok, now that you're duly impressed with how long my commute is, you'll understand why I've only done it a few times.  Actually, I hadn't done it in a long time and with the forecast for summer weather last Friday (not to mention that it also happened to be an official Bike to Work day), I decided to do it again.

I reviewed my previous posts for a reminder of what to pack and such.  But a couple of additional tips bear repeating here.

1) Plan ahead

If you know at least one day in advance that you're going to ride in, take your stuff in early:

• Office clothes (everything you'll need, unless of course you enjoy going commando)
• Set of cycling clothes
• Ride-home nutrition (e.g. 1 GU/hr)
• Any work stuff you'll need for the next day (since you don't want to have to carry files on your bike)
• Shower/clean-up stuff
• LOCK (see below)

2) Pack only what you need

Despite having done this before, I still overpacked a little for the ride in.  I carried a cable lock with me, even though I'd pre-staged a U-lock at the bike rack at work.  And some may disagree, but I don't bother with my "mini" tool.  Perhaps cuz it's actually a "large"  I'd probably pack a smaller one though.

If you've pre-staged stuff as suggested in 1) above, you should only need what you'd normally need for a long ride: flat fixin's, cellphone, money, GUs, water.  Cleat covers are a bonus for walking from the bike rack to the showers (or bathroom).

Oh - and don't forget to bring your office card key if you need one, and a house key for when you get back home.  No need to ask me why that's important - or how I know.

3) Once you've pre-staged once, rinse & repeat

Cool thing about doing things this way is that all you have to do to be all prepared for the next time you wanna ride in is to replace your clothes (work & cycling) the day before.  Leave everything else (cleanup stuff, lock) at work.

Admittedly, this approach works best if you have a locker and a shower at your workplace.  But I suspect it'd be almost as easy provided you have at least a hook to hang your clothes on and a bathroom to freshen up in.

Of course, if you have a shorter commute you could use panniers (or even a backpack) and avoid prestaging altogether.  But if you want your ride into work to be as close to a "regular" ride as possible - and without the extra baggage (literally and figuratively) - try out these tips.

And be sure to let me know if you do - and if you have any additional tips to add.

Happy Commuting Riding!

Morning Commute

PhonePic from the saddle of East Haddam, CT and the Connecticut River - on my way in to work.

I also shed the jacket here.  Shed the legwarmers in Higganum.  It was 81 degrees by the time I hit Cromwell.

This is April in New England?

Bike to Work Day & Sunday Ride

After last week's paltry 57 miles, I got some good miles in this week.  Check out "2008 Totals" on the left side of the page.  It helped that I rode into work on Friday, even though I was not at all motivated.  It was dark & cold and I had to leave an hour later than last time to wait for the sun to come up.

But what finally got me out of bed and onto my bike was a promise to participate in the August Bike to Work Day.  With an 82 mile round trip, I may have had the longest commute - but for sure I was one of the last to the event.  The bagels were all gone and all they had left was some fruit :^(  But my two buddies - the ones I'd made the promise to - were there, so that really made it worthwhile.  It was even cooler to get to ride with them from the event to the office.  Nice to have company on at least part of the commute!

Here's a pic of the bike rack at the parking garage.  Guess which bike is mine . . .

Saturday was a washout weather-wise, so no riding.  But Mrs. Suitcase and I got to visit with some of her family in Fall River, MA.  Second time this month we've visited Fall River - and I hadn't been there for anything before that for years.  Strange.

Sunday was a rare morning group ride - and the source of probably the shortest post I've ever done - actually uploaded from my phone while waiting for the pack to show up before crossing the river.  It was a beautiful ride, despite all the climbing.  Check out the profile:

For those of you interested in the area, here's where we went:

I thought it was a fairly brisk ride (especially adding in the climb up Mt. Archer - for whatever a "Mt." qualifies for in CT - about 33 miles in), but for the 17 avg speed I had, my AHR was only 122.  LOVE riding sheltered in a group!  For complete Garmin details, click here.

So, all in all, I ended up with over 210 miles for the week.  But the weekend wasn't over yet - I had Labor Day off and long-standing plans for an epic ride (as far as modes of transportation anyway).  That post will come later, but here's a brief summary of where my bike and I went yesterday:

• Old Saybrook to Milford via car

• Milford to Bridgeport via train

• Bridgeport to Port Jefferson, Long Island via boat

• Port Jefferson to Orient Point, LI via bike

• Orient Point to New London, CT via boat

• New London to Old Saybrook via bike

If I had a YouTube of it, would it be called "Bikes, Boats, Trains & Automobiles"?  Ok, it's probably best I don't have a video, but I do have lots of pics which I'll include in the upcoming post (but if you can't wait, and don't mind the absence of captions, you can check them out in the Photo Albums section, left side of the blog).

Till later . . .

Biking to Work:Long Distance Commuting

(We interrupt our regularly-scheduled Why Cycle Wednesday to bring you this Special Presentation)

There was a lot of ink/pixels expended on Bike to Work Week and Bike to Work Day this year, but I noticed that most of those stories had to do with commutes of up to 10 miles or so.  IMHO, if your commute is less than 5 miles, you really should give biking-to-work a try.  All you need is a bike, preferably with a chainguard and fenders (to keep your clothes clean) and a backpack to carry your stuff.  You can just substitute a bike for your car and a backpack for your briefcase.  Admittedly, it's not quite as professional looking as your BMW and Coach bag, but you can look WAY cooler.

Check it out.

If your commute is over 5 miles to, say, 10 miles or so, it starts to get a little more complicated.  The weather can change a bit in that distance (especially in New England).  Maybe you wear "junkie" clothes and carry your nice work clothes on a rear rack in saddlebags.  Or maybe you just want to be extra prepared for any kind of weather/mishap and/or need to carry a lot of stuff.  If so, a backpack may not cut it (despite my experience last year).  You'll probably want a rack and panniers.

I don't want to repeat all the other good tips/advice/guidance for those "normal" commuters - which I would define as those that ride up to 10 miles one way to work - that's been much more ably covered here, here, and here.  Incidentally, the BEST overall go-to site I've found for this sort of thing is here.

But if your one-way commute is over 10-20 miles, read on for what I hope you'll agree is some helpful information.

First off, let me admit that I do NOT regularly ride my bike to work.  I've done it three times (so far).  So I'm certainly no expert.  But with a commute that is over 40 miles one-way, I've learned a lot - and made a lot of mistakes - so you can build on my experience and tackle a long bike commute yourself, even if only occasionally.

"Normal" Commute

Riding to the office in the morning - Riding back home in the evening.

The first time I rode my bike to work, I tried to do it the "normal" way: I packed all my stuff in a backpack and rode in.  The only modification from the "5 mile commuter" was that I wore cycling clothes (riding 80 miles in your Dockers ain't gonna be comfortable).  I didn't have to plan ahead that much, since I was carrying everything I needed with me (shower stuff, change of clothes, etc).  If you want to know what NOT to do on a long 1-day round trip commute - as well as get some tips on what works well - read my account here.

I did this again recently, but this time with a rack and panniers.  The "panniers" I use is actually a small garment bag that fits on a bike rack - perfect if your job requires a suit - and has room for all I need to carry.  Only challenge was "hybridizing" my racing bike into a touring bike(?!)  But based on a comment from Adam, I got a seatpost rack and was in business.

Not exactly race-ready, but one of the fastest "commuting" bikes you'll see . . .

 

Upside: you got everything with you.  Downside: This rig almost doubles the weight of the bike, adding 14 pounds.  The panniers themselves are heavier than the backpack and of course there's the weight of the rack.  But at least it's off your back - especially nice during the hot summer weather.

Just keep in mind that your bike will handle MUCH differently with this setup.  You won't want to get out of the saddle and swing the bike from side to side - very unstable.  And be careful going too fast around corners until you're used to it.

Of course, going uphill will be MUCH harder too - but just think how fast you'll (think you'll) be when you strip off all that stuff to race!

"Hybrid" Commute

Driving in, Riding Home/Riding in, Driving Home

Last month, I tried something different - which long-distance commuters (who are also weight weenies) may find easier to do.  I drove in to work one day with everything I needed, and rode my bike home that evening (leaving the car at work).  I then rode my bike back to work the next morning and drove everything home at the end of the (second) day.

The beauty of this is that your car is moving everything, rather than your legs.  Drive in all dressed for work, but pack your gear as if you're going for a ride after work (er, cuz that's what you're doing).  Just be sure to pack the next day's work clothes and shower stuff (if you plan to shower after your ride back into work the next morning - recommended, according to your office mates).  Drive everything home the next day after work.

Only downside I can think of is that it requires you to drive in - a problem if you either don't have a car or the whole point of riding in is to save gas.  But you DO only do one round trip over the course of two days, saving a day of driving.

And you get to spread out your commute over two days as well, making this a great way to ease into the longer commutes.

Public Transit Combo

For those of you that usually carpool or take the bus rather than drive, you can do a combination of the "Normal" and "Hybrid" commutes.  Just take all your stuff (except your bike of course) in with you the day before Ride Day, but be sure to pack an extra set of cycling clothes since you'll be riding to AND from work as on a normal commute.  Bring your stuff back home the day after Ride Day.  This requires a bit more planning ahead, but you won't have to haul an extra 14 pounds on your bike either.

And how much is THAT worth to a weight weenie?

I'll probably try this approach next time - and will let you know if I forgot anything . . .

"Half" Commute

Driving in part way, riding the rest of the way

I've heard that many people do long commutes this way, but I haven't tried.  The reason is simple.  By far the quietest and most scenic part of my commute is between my house and the half-way point to the office.  Check out my pics if you want to see what I mean.  If I drove to the half-way point and rode in from there, I'd have only the busy, noisy (relatively) urban part of the commute to ride on.  And it's not worth the trouble, to me anyway, of driving part way.  1/2 way to work for me is only 20 miles - and I don't have to figure out a safe, secure place to park my truck during the day.

But it IS another option - and would be preferred if the latter 1/2 of the route is better for biking.  Drive through all the bad bits and save the good bits for your bike.

So there you have it - some additional options for getting to work by bike.  For more tips/info, check out my new category on commuting (right side of site, scroll down).  I'd love to hear from others who've beeing riding their bikes to work - no matter what the distance.  And remember, it doesn't have to be a political statement - or even due to the high gas prices.  If you just love to ride, and want to get some massive miles in without a huge additional sacrifice of time, give bike commuting a try.

Why Cycle Wednesday:LONG Commute Part 2

Or: "How to Lose 11 pounds in 1 day and ride 80 miles with no time."

I finally rode my bike to work for the first time last week, and it's over 40 miles one way.  You can read all about my in-bound trip here.  In this post I'll let you know what I did during the workday to try and recover, some mistakes I made, things I could have done without, what I would have done differently and lessons learned.

And if that's not exciting enough, at least on the way home I took more pics, so there's more to see in this post.

So once I locked up my bike, it was time to hit the showers.  This is a critical part of any bike commute (just ask your podmates).  It's also time to start recovery and prepare for the return trip.  After stretching and getting cleaned up, I had a protein bar and continued to drink as much water as I could - and tried to stay off my legs (thankfully not too difficult in an office environment).  I was surprised that after "just" a 40 mile ride that my legs were so tired - I guess the extra weight of the backpack really affected me after all.

At lunch time, I made my big mistake of the day.  I usually bring some sort of microwave dinner to eat, but I didn't pack my usual lunch (no room) so decided to "treat" myself to lunch at our cafe.  Continuing my "healthy" kick for the day, I decided to have a nice big salad with LOTS of protein - bits of chicken, ham, egg, etc.

Big mistake.

The whole rest of the afternoon my stomache was in knots and, let's just say that one of the things I wish I'd packed was Pepto pills.  And I certainly wasn't looking forward to having to sit on a bike saddle all the way home.

So, dreading the return trip, once I finished my work for the day, I went back to the locker room to change into my cycling clothes.  I had decided much earlier that there was no way I was going to carry the backpack and all that stuff home - I could just pick it up the next day, when I had my truck.  So I left my pack, office clothes, shower stuff, morning bike clothes, etc. in the locker.  All I took with me for the return trip was my usual 40mi ride stuff (pretty much):

Packed for return trip

• Seatbag with flat fixin's
• Garmin & cyclocomputer
• cellphone
• camera
• GUs
• wallet & keys
• iPod (didn't plan on using it, but I didn't want to leave it at work.

I got back to my bike and put on my Garmin - and the mount promptly broke(!).  Argh!  I didn't have any other way to attach it to the bike, so it went into the jersey.  If you check out the ride details, you'll notice the heart rate on the way home was really wacky - I can only guess that the Garmin didn't like being in my pocket.

The ride home started off much harder than the ride in - there was a VERY strong headwind heading south through Hartford (guess that' s why I flew in on the way in...) and it was much more busy traffic-wise.  But I didn't drop my chain at any of the intersections and, other than the wind (and bc I wasn't hauling everything-but-the-kitchen-sink on my back) it felt a lot like a normal ride.

And fortunately, like what often happens in races, once I got on the bike and started riding, my stomach settled down.

If you want to follow along, here's the route.

And here's the profile.

Looks familiar, I know.

Having done the route already that morning, I pretty much knew what to expect on the way home.  The only major question was whether to stop at Pedal Power in Middletown and pick up my replacement rear tire.  I'd gashed my new tire a couple weeks earlier and the replacement finally came in.

I got the tire.  But with all the other stuff I'd stuffed into my jersey, it was a tight fit.  I hoped I wouldn't lose it on the way home . . .

South of Middletown, I got back into beautiful lower-Connecticut-River-valley country.  Here are some scenes from along the way:

Near Haddam

Public library

Same shot from the morning, but without the fog.

On Bokum Road - actually not too far from the end of the ride.

My legs, which had been so tired during the day, perked up for the return trip (thankfully).  I was surprised to discover that I was turning a gear or two bigger than normal.  And, despite the headwind (which calmed down a bit south of Middletown), my average speed homebound was actually higher (but I suppose within the margin of error).

Stats for the evening commute:

• 41.32 miles (took a slightly different route out of Hartford)
• 17.2 average speed
• 2 hrs 24 min riding time
• 1952' of climbing
• 137 bpm average heart rate (identical to the morning.  Weird)

I arrived home tired but happy - and Mrs. Suitcase surprised me by cheering me in from the front porch!  A very good day.

But what would I have done differently?

Most importantly, and as Larry suggested, I would have staged all my junk beforehand.  If you can, take all of your office clothes, shower stuff - basically everything you don't have to carry with you on a normal long-ish ride - and put it in your office/locker at least the day before.

And I definitely would have packed less stuff.  I could probably have done without the iPod (though it was nice in the morning) and the multi-tool (I've never needed it during a ride and dunno what I would have done with it anyway).

I would have gotten much more sleep.  While my adrenaline for the ride certainly kept me from being sleepy during the day, my body was more tired than it should have been.  And that probably kept me from recovering as well as I could have.

Finally, I wouldn't have changed my eating habit so drastically.  I hardly ever have salad for lunch - and if I'm riding like this, you can bet I won't again.

All in all, it was a great experience - something I've wanted to try for a long time and despite the problems, they were all pretty minor so I hope to do this again sometime.

How else can you get in an 80 mile ride and still go to work - and drop 11 pounds (even if it was all in your backpack) in the process, all in the same day?