FLCC> Fwd: Tuesday Morning Ride Recap

Tue Jan 15 11:47:12 EST 2008

Great story Vanya. We need an epic this coming weekend.

Don

From: flcc-bounces at icycle.org [mailto:flcc-bounces at icycle.org] On Behalf
Of Vanya Temnykh
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 11:38 AM
To: flcc at icycle.org
Subject: FLCC> Fwd: Tuesday Morning Ride Recap

Don Fitterer requested that I forward this ride report to the flcc
listserve. I did this ride exactly a week ago, when daytime temps were
nearly 70 F. Classic Ithaca weather!

Vanya

		Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 07:09:27 -0800 (PST)
		From: Vanya Temnykh <itemnykh at yahoo.com>
		Subject: Tuesday Morning Ride Recap
		To: cucycle-l at cornell.edu

		Well the weather couldn't have been more beautiful.
After getting a new speedometer battery at Rite Aid and making a few
seat adjustments, I was off around 9:30AM. The first major ascent was
Snyder Hill Road, past my house, to Rte 79. Smooth cruising to
Slaterville Springs and then left on Harford Rd, one of my favorites.
Riding up the valley in only a T-shirt, I plunged into a pool of cold
air, trapped between the hills, where the sun does not shine in the
winter months. There was still snow in the forest, and the temperature
must have been 20 degrees cooler than at the start of the ride. A
majestic blanket of fog spread across the melting snow...

		At the pass, warm air regained control, and it was an
exhilirating 30mph glide down to Rte 38. In the valley it was summer
again, with a few tractors chugging around the empty corn fields, all
under that unforgettable country smell of thawing cow manure.

		I turned onto the Dryden Lake railroad bed, aka the Jim
Shugg Trail, hoping it wasn't too soft for road bike tires. In two miles
the lake itself appeared on my right, about three quarters of it frozen
over. I stopped at the park by the lake dam, 17 miles into the ride, or
the half way point.

		The second part of the ride was much more
climb-intensive, starting off with the Ferguson Rd to Irish Settlement
ascent out of Dryden. This is where I discovered that high gearing plus
no granny gear equals pain. I think the lowest gear on my Centurion
12-speed (only noticing there were in fact six sprockets on the back
cluster about five miles into the ride) is a 42 by 28...quite high for a
30 pound race bike. In any case, in first gear at a comfortable cadence,
you are going no less than 8mph. So when the hill brings that down to
5mph, pushing on the pedals becomes very hard.

		Conquering Irish Settlement, I was rewarded by a
leisurely cruise down one of the most scenic valleys in Tompkins County,
with about 10 miles left to go. Right on Midline, and left on Hunt Hill
(Hurd would have been too easy). As on many roads during the ride, I was
greeted by a babbling brook to the right of the road as I began the
second-to-last painful ascent. It got so steep, I was doing one stroke
every two seconds, but never getting off the bike. On the downhill top
speed reached 40mph, limited somewhat by the sand in the corners and my
cautious use of the old-school brakes.

		Safely on Ellis Hollow, only Genung Rd. stood in the
way. Ordinarily a mild climb, I now imagined it as a vertical wall,
having left my legs somewhere along Hunt Hill. They almost gave out,
riding past the christmas tree farm, but it was it was about lunch time
so I had no time to waste. I rolled into my driveway just before 12:30,
after a grand total of 34 miles.

		So when is the next winter-thaw ride? Gotta get in shape
for the road season!

		Vanya

		Vanya Temnykh <itemnykh at yahoo.com> wrote:

			Wow it's 60F outside!

			Tomorrow morning the roads should be dry and
clean...

			I want to test out my freshly restored 10-speed.

			Let's do 2+hrs of paved back country roads,
maybe Harford, West Creek, old-76 loop.

			Meet at HSBC bank across from East Hill Plaza
tomorrow morning 9AM sharp.

			See you all there!

			Vanya

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