From: pamela@keps.kodak.com (Pamela Blalock)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.rides
Subject: November century (long)
Keywords: century, cold, tandem
Date: 18 Nov 92 22:02:00 GMT
Organization: Kodak Electronic Printing Systems

Number 11 is done. I remember this feeling. One more century to ride
in December and we'll be done. For some reason, I didn't remember this
feeling last fall when we started talking about the idea of doing at
least one century each month for a year. But I had done it before in
1988, so I should have known better.

The first few are kind of fun, even though it's cold.  And the summer
ones are easy, because we are doing them anyway. But in the fall, I
start to resent having to do another one, but I already have so much
time invested that I do it even though I'd rather be playing cards in
front of a warm fire, while the snow flurries dance outside the
window.

Don't get me wrong, once I start riding, I have a great time, and the
November century was no exception. But it was a pain to try and fit ii
in this month. We had so many other things going on. Steve finally
decided he'd had enough Maine winters and moved to Massachusetts. It's
not North Carolina, but it is a start. And we had planned to go see my
family in NC over Thanksgiving, where we could do a century, but it
wouldn't count for our club challenge, because it was not in a cold
weather state during a cold weather month (a club rule). So we
scheduled it around the move and the holiday and picked November 15.

We spent Saturday, the 14th, loading the truck, driving, and unloading
the truck into my garage. We moved just enough stuff into the house to
get the tandem out of the garage. Then we slept soundly until the
reality of a new day was announced by our alarm clock at 7AM. Rising
from bed, in an attempt to disassemble the clock, the pain reminded us
both of our previous day's activities, but cycling uses completely
different muscles from moving (yeah, right), so we assured each other
that we could make it through the ride.

It had been almost a month since the tandem had seen the road, and
over breakfast we remembered that we needed to adjust shifting, and
install Steve's new seat before we could begin. We discovered that our
freewheel needed dental work as there was a missing tooth on the 13T
cog. I suppose non-dog-tired people would have thought to use the
other set of wheels, but we didn't. And since it takes a vice to get
the freewheel of the tandem after one ride, let alone what we've done
since we last had it off, and since the service station across the
street, where I usually go to use a vice was closed, we just decided
to not use that cog during the ride!

Then we got to play with the saddle. After BMB we discovered that
Steve had worn holes in the leather covering on his Flite saddle. He
also no longer referred to it as a saddle, but rather as a torture
device. (Fortunately I was able to pawn off the other two we had
bought to (well-warned) readers of rec.bicycles.marketplace.)  I began
searching for a new saddle for Steve. I had discovered and solved my
own saddle problem on BMB, and unknowlingly had removed from the back
of the bike the potential solution for Steve's saddle problem. I had
been using a Terry woman's saddle and was completely satisfied with it
until 500 or so miles into the ride, when for various reasons, I found
the Terry unbearable, and traded it for a Miyata. The Terry and Miyata
are similar saddles with one major difference.  Both are woman's
saddles with a wider back, and both have holes in the nose to suspend
soft tissue, but the Terry has the hole covered in foam and lycra,
while the Miyata leaves the hole exposed. I found after 500 miles that
even the presence of the foam was causing great discomfort, and
fortunately our crew found a Miyata saddle to replace the offender.

Men and women don't really understand each others saddle discomfort,
but after hearing Steve describe his, I began to think that a saddle
with a hole in the nose might work for a man too. I didn't suggest he
try mine, because I thought it would be too wide. Then one day, I
found one of my extra Terry saddles on Steve's bike on his trainer. He
seemed quite happy with it's performance.  I asked if we should scrape
the word Terry off the back, so guys wouldn't tease him, but he said
they'd have to catch him first! I also thought back to a talk Ben
Serotta gave to my club once. He had suggested using women's saddles
with aero bars, since the nose is shorter and less likely to
interfere. He had also made the "They'll have to catch you" remark!

Anyway, he'd only been using the Terry on the trainer, so we decided
to give it a road test, and in our typical tradition of changing
something major before a long ride, we decided to try it on this
century. (Remember, do as I say, not as I do. Never make a drastic
change before a big or important ride. Try things out on a short ride
first! :)

So with the bike all ready, Steve proceeded to open almost every box
to find clothes, shoes, gloves, etc for the ride. We finally hit the
road by 9:15AM. It gets dark between 4:00 and 4:30 these days, so we
wouldn't have much time for lounging around or long breaks, but we
felt confidant that we would make it back by dark. So much so, that we
mounted our lights:)

Our chosen route was one we've done many times this fall. From Lowell,
Ma, we take back roads to Hollis, NH, down through Amherst, up Tater
Road to New Boston, along the river to Goffstown, where we take a
hilly loop that eventually gets us back to New Boston, then up to Mt.
Vernon, down to Milford, Brookline, Hollis and home. We've both
slacked off our riding since summer, so it was an ambitious route for
two out-of-shape people on a tandem. We had talked about taking a trip
to the coast for a flatter route, but that would been a couple of
hours of driving, so we decided to suffer. (3500 feet of climbing
isn't that bad for two out-of-shape people on a tandem:) Of course
there was one other reason not to do this route. It was in the 20's in
Lowell. Goffstown would be quite a bit colder and the weatherliars had
predicted flurries.

But cold and flurries and hills didn't deter us. We remembered those
wonderful snowy rides last winter, and decided we were tough enough.
Armed with a wealth of knowledge of winter riding, we headed north.

While Steve was trying a new saddle, I was a little more conservative
by only trying new fleece insoles in my shoes. I have two identical
pairs of shoes, with the one difference being the size. The winter
shoes are a size larger, so I can wear thick socks, or get fleece
insoles in them.  The shoes take a recessed look cleat, so a rider can
walk comfortably.  They are a little heavier than most *racing* shoes,
but that makes them warmer in the winter too. But my feet still get
cold, so this week I decided to try the fleece insoles, along with
thermax socks and neoprene booties. I'm happy to report that this was
a great combination. My toes never got cold.  (For those who are
interested, the shoes are the Avia's that Nashbar has on sale for
19.99 now). Next time I'll try out my new neoprene socks.

While I'm at it, I'll describe the rest of my clothing choices. It's
getting to be that time of the year, and some folks may find this
helpful.

My first layer includes a thermax zippered turtleneck. I like thermax
because it can be dried and doesn't hold odor like polypro, but it
does wick away moisture. The zipper is important for regulating
tempearture.  Then I add a pair of Urbanek bib shorts. I like bibs
because I hate a binding waistband. They also have the added advantage
in cold weather by covering the back totally, and in the case of the
Urbaneks, they cover the chest as well for more warmth. Then I add bib
tights, again avoiding the binding waistband. A pair of slik glove
liners and a silk face mask, are covered by a pair of medium weight
gortex-insert gloves and a headband for my ears. Then I add my rain
jacket. My current favorite rain jacket is made by Cannondale. It's
either Gortex or one of those other breathable, water-resistant
fabrics like Gortex. but the design is more crucial than the fabric.
It has underarm zippers that zip from both ends, so you can regulate
the amount of air flow. It has a large vent in the back for air to
exit. It's fairly long with a rain flap that snaps, not velcros in
place. I find that velcro snags my tights.  The sleeves are plenty
long when in the cycling postion and have enough elastic to stay up,
but aren't too tight. In addition to the zipper down the front is has
a wind flap that snaps to cover the zipper, to keep wind front
penetrating the zipper. It wasn't cheap, but I really like this
jacket. If you think I've bragged about the jacket, wait til you hear
about the pants. The rain pants I use are from REI. They are Gortex,
lined with netting, but again it's the design. They come with
suspenders integrated into the design, a high back, with a little
elastic in the back and none in the front, and zippers to close up the
*bell bottoms*. They come in men's and ladies sizes - so I could find
a pair to fit me. Again they weren't cheap, but they fit every need I
have in rain pants. They stay up and keep me warm and/or dry. These I
carry with me in case it rains or gets substantially colder. I also
carry a wool sweater, gortex insert mittens, and a neoprene face mask.
The above list combined with my clear Oakleys and helmet and I'm
prepared for any temperature down to 0F. (I admit it - I'm a wimp - I
won't ride below 0F.) Sundays temperatures ranged from 20-40F.

When trying to stay warm while cycling in cold weather it's important
to stay dry. Staying dry involves two things, letting sweat escape and
keeping water and snow out. Cotton is forbidden on winter rides. I
also stay away from heavy clothes that will make me overheat, since if
I overheat, I sweat and get wet and then cold. Secondly, I am always
prepared for rain and other external wet stuff. This is New England,
where the one sure thing you can predict about the weather is that it
is unpredictable. Fortunately the rain gear also works well against
cold and wind. The various zippers I mentioned, in the turtleneck and
under the arms in the jacket, in addition to the one down the front of
the jacket, are very important in regulating temperature as the level
of effort changes on uphills and downhills.

On longer rides I will also carry a sweater and extra gloves in case a
breakdown forces me to stop riding and spend some time outside.
Clothing that will keep me warm while I ride won't do the job once I
stop. If I have to change a flat or repair a chain, I will add the
sweater while I am stopped.

One other bit of cold weather gear I use is a Camelbak. This keeps my
water from freezing. I do have to pay attention to keep the hose
tucked inside my jacket, so it won't freeze, but I had drinkable water
on several rides last winter, when people using bottles were out of
luck.

Well, now that I've done several product reviews, talked about repairs
and saddle discomfort, I suppose I should talk about the ride. (Hmm,
maybe I should have cross-posted this everywhere :)

We headed out toward Hollis with partly cloudy skies. When the sun
broke through we both felt warm, but when in the shade, or under cloud
cover, the air felt crisp and cold. Most of the leaves are gone now,
with the exception of the oaks, whose dried out brown leaves hang on
until either all the other leaves have been raked away, or spring
comes and new leaves push them off. The naked trees made the ride seem
completely different, as houses came into view that we hadn't seen
before. I hadn't remembered seeing as many billy-goats before, and
never noticed the shetland sheep.  BTW, Steve has a bad habit of
telling me that something I have seen is a bear, when it's a dog for
instance. I used to be more trusting! So maybe it wasn't a sheep at
all.

We reached our first major landmark in Hollis, and I opened a
powerbar.  One of the many, many advantages of tandem riding is that
the stoker can practically make lunch and hand it to the captain. OK,
so opening a powerbar isn't making lunch, but it is a nice perk. Of
course, the disadvantage is that there is usually a bite missing ...

We headed out of Hollis down the hill and past one of New Hampshire's
largest flea markets, which has finally closed down for the season,
meaning that it isn't a major headache to get through cars turning and
people darting across the street in front of us. The area looks rather
sad all closed up and deserted, but soon spring and bargain hunters
will return. This stretch of road has several different flea markets
and apparently also has a problem with vehicles parking on the
shoulder, as evidenced by the numerous signs that say "No Stopping or
Standing". Just as we passed one of the signs, we began a gradual
climb that would best be done out of the saddle, so when Steve called
"Standing", I just had to laugh at the thought of *breaking the law*.

Soon we found ourselves at the base of Tater Road, one of the big
climbs on the ride. When we finally reached the top, I opened another
powerbar for us to share, and we both promised to start using our
trainers a little more during the week. A quick descent and we were on
route 13 heading into New Boston. The next few miles follows the river
and is called the Davis Scenic Drive. In warmer weather and with
longer days, we often stop for water at the spring a mile out of town,
but this time we just rolled on past. A steady headwind lulled us into
the false hope that we would have a tailwind on the way home. An
occassional Blue Jay flew across our path to break up the starkness of
the pre-winter scenery along this *scenic drive*.

We took a very short break at Linda's Bakery and restaurant, when we
discovered that neither of us had brought money. Fortunately, we
realized this before going in, and fortunately we had plenty of
powerbars. I really would have liked some caffeine, but it probably
saved us from having lots of pee stops later in the ride. I did take
advantage of the facilities there. Those bib shorts, I raved about
above do have one tiny disadvantage ...

We then started in on the part of the ride, where I always accuse
Steve of tricking me. After this nice flat section along the river, we
have a 20 mile loop of hills. I always tell him that he tricked me by
bringing me out a flat way and taking me back on the hills. It's
gotten to be a running joke, since we do this ride so regularly. I
SHOULD know by now.

But this time, the hills were welcome, since they helped warm us back
up after the stop. We pass familiar landmarks, which again look a
little different amidst all the barren trees, but we manage to find
each turn and gradually work our way back toward New Boston, where 4
more climbs await us before we get to the really fun part of the ride,
flying down Mt. Vernon.

I'm not sure what our record max speed has been on Mt. Vernon. One
time, we had a policeman shake his finger at us as we flew past.
Another occassion we had to brake hard to avoid a cat which darted out
in front of us. Traffic usually slows us down, so we've gotten in the
habit of trying to let cars get down the hill before we start. This
time we reached 56.4. The speed limit is 35, but goes to 40 and 45 as
the road levels out. Yes, this one little down hill makes all the
other climbs worthwhile!

From here we headed into the town of Milford for a little game of
traffic circle roulet, where we try to negotiate with cars for a
chance in the rotary to get to the other side of town. And then it's
down route 13 again towards Brookline, where Steve's brother, David,
lives, and we plan to make our other pit-stop for the day. We tried to
convince David to ride with us, but he mumbled something about cold
before turning us down.

We reached David's empty house and raided his cupboards in search of
food, since we had no money and were ready for something other than
powerbars.  We found pop-tarts, cliff bars and tootsie-pops left over
from Halloween.  We impersonated trick-or-treaters and enjoyed a quick
snack before hitting the road for the final 25 miles before dark.

It was then that it began to snow. It was light flurries actually, but
we got a great kick out of it. We had snow on at least one ride for
the first 5 months of the year, and had a little snow the weekend
before at Mt. Snow, VT (but wouldn't you expect it there), and it
seemed only fitting that the November century should be blessed with a
few flakes.

We actually rode in and out of the flurries several times before
arriving home. After the tradition end-of-century-hug, we headed
straight for the phone and the traditional
end-of-century-dominoes-pizza.

Well, we have one more to do sometime in December. Watch this space
for the report of the final century for 1992.

BTW, over the year, I have received lots of letters from people saying
they would like to try a similar thing. For those that I haven't lost
with my complaints of snow and weariness, I offer the first annual
rec.bicycles.rides century-a-month challenge.

It's simple. Ride at least one century in each calendar month of the
year.  Then tell us about it. Post a ride report which includes a
brief description of the route, the weather, the people who rode, the
people you met, the animals you saw, the breakdowns you had, and the
FUN you had. I'll keep a list of those participating, and update and
post it at the end of each month. It is a great way to stay in shape
year round, and it will generate some interesting reading in this
group.

Any takers... 




-- 
Pamela Blalock                                              pamela@keps.com
KEPS, 164 Lexington Road                                    11 down, 1 to go!
Billerica, MA 01821-3984