Sunday, April 26, 2009

EBs North again -- good moving, just right.

How is that? 20C at 7am -- just great after all that cold days. It got really high summer over night, about 32C around noon as he returned from a nice EBs N ride.

Just a couple of snaps...

At the parking lot... now yet started, riders got hot and took off some not needed base layers....

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After the Tanks run on Sound Ave a nasty pot hole did fatal on two wheels, Py was lucky seeing it last second and managed not to hit it -- but two rider were not as lucky and and must hit it badly, flattened and one out of true wheel and a more or less destroyed carbon wheel. Sorry for that.

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waiting for the flat get fixed.

Proceeding and having a break at the Cutchogue Deli.



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... reassembling for the return. Py got a chance to get out the camera.

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Ride Stats:

MB is stuck and overloaded right now :-(
However: adding 81 miles / 4hours 3mins -- that is now 243mi / 12h27 @ day #4.
EBs moving average 35.4km/h @ 55mi. You figure that units out -- US standart, mixing it up o-)

Time and Distance cumulated at various speed zones

Saturday, April 25, 2009

... RP2IPBP

The ride continues. Since the weather turned nice on Thursday Py rode to the Camp (footnote: former Camp Upton, now a Research Work Place), at Lunchtime a ride at very windy conditions and back home. Friday, same thing, but 1st time in shorts and short sleeves -- how nice. The 1st hours of sun left a faint little reddish and tan on his not yet sun exposed arms at the very upper part or end of the sleeve. Saturday return of the RP2IPBP ride.

Saturday morning 9am Py lead out the more or less usual group of three riders total. Moving out east on Sound Ave, coming up on Boy Scout Hill, a scary looking plume of low fog was moving in low and up and over from the North Shore, very weird looking. But sunny and clear sky and warm air on the Island. Going north just shortly before reaching they were diving into this weird cold low fog, it's desity got from just chilly and sun blocking to condensing cold and wet and with sub 100m visibility to the North at the bottom of "The Tanks". Little thick clouds sitting on the ground and lakes around, amazing weather phenomen... Arriving at IPBP, no sun, just a grey wall of fog and little chilly feel. They did not spend much time there.

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A hiddle pond, a cyclist,

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and a huge frog...

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Time to return. Nice getting out of this fog and back into the sun.

The summer has definitively arrived, finally. Temps were reaching 24C by the end of the ride.

Ride stats summary:

Thursday: 86km - 2h46
Friday: 86km - 2h45
Saturday (RP2IPBP): 90km - 2h53

or 3days and 162mi - 8h24 and counting.

Ride Stats:

Time and Distance cumulated at various speed zones

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Tour of the Battenkill

April 18th/19th Py made a road trip upstate to the Tour of the Battenkill to help out at the feed zone 2 and support his friends in the EECT and related LI based teams racing this weekend -- the best he could do, as he not knowing about it in time, missed to sign up in time to get a start number. But still what a great get away! He stayed with team members and friends at a nice place close to Salem at the Inn at Beattie Hollow. The nice but small place got a bit over full, but the Inn owners handled that all.

Arrival Friday night, pre race dinner. Debating and discussing things to come and Py got into the idea of attempting a last minute (5min pre start) walkup for getting in into, he was all prepared so far...

Saturday - Amateur Race all CATs.
As many of them started in different CATs and thus different start blocks/times some left early and some later -- Py still was up honestly with the idea to get into the bigger group with his friends and team mates. However, they had a good breakfast at the diner 3/4 toward Cambridge. What Py did not really know by this morning and was that his only chance would have been the CAT5, not holding a racing license -- "wrong" group and time :-( And... this start time was now out of reach, or about to happen as they got back to get prepared.

Still, he got his stuff and drove to teh start, as there was nothing else to do by this time. Went in to the registration and double checked -- no race for Py. So back to plan A, help at the feed zone 2 and take photos... So he did and drove up to F2.

Pretty early, not much going on yet. Heck, that bike outfit all on and bike ready, nice morning and still some time -- he got on his bike to explore the race route coming up from F2 for a couple of miles, including a good dirt road section -- just enough to get the bike a bit dusty.


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Back to F2. Trevor showed up and more of the EECT and friends.


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On-the-fly feeding or handing out water bottles to riders asking for -- they have be kind enough to supply water to every one and not only the team -- very nice move...

Here a few feed in action shots:

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Around noon it got a bit cooler and a little rain set in -- a bit messy, but yet not too bad for the riders.

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all the supporters waiting for the riders

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Sunday, Py made his own action plan and started out early from the Inn on his bike to tackle the race course before every one else, starting with a offset as well, his very own race lap. A few photos... and at the end of his ride he timed it in a way to meet up with the Pro racers 1st on top of Juniper Hill and later again at the turn into 22 towards Salem.


View Larger Map

Greenwich

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Covered Bridge

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Juniper Hill, waiting for the Pro teams...


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Here they come...

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and suffer and skid at times as well...

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The leading two riders turning on 22 (12:03:31 camera time, may be off a bit)

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the field follows at least a 94s later (CamTime: 12:04:45)!

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... notice the poor guy on the right getting pushed off road, Py feels like could happen to him o-)


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From here he rode back and finished is lap with about 60mi as well and he did this fun dirt road hill at Juniper Road two times, as he lapped around top view the Pro's once again ++ plus, he carried his big camera with big lens and some more tech stuff all day in his camel bag -- about 2.5 .. 3.0kg extra o-)

Ride Stats of the (Sun) day:



Elevation vs Distance or Time.


Time and Distance cumulated at various speed zones