2010 race to the top of vt

made it to the top in record time--4 seconds faster than last years effort!

in training

Still in training for the Big Hill, I rode to work three outof 5 days. The first two having been fairly standard--a few extra miles thrown in at each end of the workday--but the third was considerably longer. I had a couple of hours to play with, so after dropping he car off for service, I took the long way over to the Blue Hills, through Braintree and Randolph, and snaked my way through, attacking every hill with everything I had. It was getting hot mid-morning, and at one point I felt I might overheat, so I stopped and chugged some more water, and walked abit. It was amazingly peaceful in the woods, and walking reminded me of how quiet hiking is without the wind whistling by my ears... BUT that didn't last long, as soon as I saw the nice long downhill run approaching, I had to get back on...

With at least 20 miles gone I got to work with an hour to spare, so I partially drip-dried myself outside before clocking in a half-hour early.

Down Time

Clipped a traffic-light pole while pushing the marsh loop. Went down hard onto my hip and shoulders and right into the beach-roses bush. Not sure why both shoulders. The leg-burger is actually I think from the front tire... Broke off my dingie bell, need to buy a new one...

Notes to self: remove bar ends and lop off 1/2" from both ends of handlebar. Trim back the beach-rose so there's alittle more space between it and the light pole...Try to go faster next time.

rare new hampshire find: a 24" Schwinn Speedster singlespeed.

I own the same-1960's era 26" version, 3-speed, with chromed fenders. But this one has hardly any oxidation on the wheels...

I had to make it clear to S2 to take it easy on it--it may be worth way more than the 20.- he paid for it....

Don't Jump!

One last thing to report before I crash. The gizmo in the pics is the most valuable piece of equipment so far. A Jump-Stop, made by N-Gear. I've been having trouble with the chain dropping on the inside. I'm running (stock)1x9 on my Redline D460. The chain is as tight as it can be....Originally I thought it was a design flaw i.e. bad chainline, because bike came stock with a little plastic hook(see pic in last post) that doesn't do a thing, and an outer bash guard . It's become apparent to me that the secondary purpose of a front derailleur is to keep the chain from falling off...I've finally come to realize that the chain popping off when coasting over bumpy terrain is an everyday occurrence--but not noticeable with the front derailleur hugging the chain/chainring interface. Think about it, you're bouncing through some rockgarden in your middle 'ring , you'll remember hearing that clank-a-clank going on down there....Or, better yet, in your granny, the same thing happens, but if your limiter screw's not quite right, your chain winds up on the bb shell. In which case, you start pedalling lightly , while gingerly shifting up until the chain engages again. This isn't possible with a single ring. You have to get off, finger it back on while manually rotating the crank and your friends sigh impatiently, wanting to get on with the ride...

The Jump Stop will not only prevent the chain dropping off the inside on your 1x9er, it will eliminate chain drop from your granny. It's adjustable enough for either, it's cheap, and it works!

Had to sleep in...

I missed the 9am start time with the Old Coot and friends at his latest favorite riding spot Adams Farm, in Walpole. So I went for another off road ride this morning in search of hills. Riding solo doesn't really bring out the adrenaline but I needed to de-stress from the past week at work, and formulate some ways to economise on my energies to get through this week. The boss is off on vacation for the next 10 days, we're short-handed, and I'm out of my usual work patterns, having to second-guess my way through his responsibilities and improvise every bloody second. I'm on for at least 75 hours this week. So my stress level is skyrocketing even as I try to relax. Getting on the bike of course is always a great stress reliever, so I headed to the Hills (Blue that is)....

I managed to ride for 2 hours on and off the yellow arrow loop, with a one-time diversion up the length of the access road. Roadies do repeats on this almost-one-mile-of-pain. I rode alongside a guy on a road bike and finished 10 seconds behind him, in about 9 minutes. I don't really have any data to go on or what to expect from myself, but that seems like a respectable pace. After all , we both have the same wheel circumference... The goal as mentioned in my last post is to be able to climb Mt Mansfield in less than an hour, at the end of the month.

This week's training sessions are blown with the work situation, but I'll try to ride to work two days. At least it's a big uphill ride there. And coming down at night flashing like a christmas tree is one of the best ways I know to shake off a long days work.