Lake Nockamixion 2012

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I'm not a lying bastard. I may sometimes accidentally misrepresent reality, forget to mention an important fact or slide by on a technicality. For the most part though I think I am a very honest person.  Still this year, for some reason, people seem to doubt my integrity. For those not on the ride this week let me explain why I need to defend myself.

This past Sunday, after a day's rain delay, I lead a ride to Lake Nockamixon from Peace Valley in Doylestown. It was a cool some what cloudy day but a nice day for a ride. There was a little confusion on which parking lot to meet in but eventually we all found each other and had five people for the ride Laura, Blake, Jim, Dave C and Jack.  As I do before most rides I gave a general overview of the ride and gave mileage, number of stops and mentioned that it would won't be too hilly. There would be some ups and downs but no really long tough climbs.

Of course the part about not being too hilly was correct but what I forgot to emphasize was that to get out of Peace Valley we would have to climb up a small hill. So about a mile into the ride we had to climb 250 feel in a about a half mile the first part of which was a 10% grade. It was a little rude to start the ride this way and I heard some grumbling in the ranks but I wanted to get the worst hill out of the way early.

From there we had some rollers until we crossed South Perkasie Road and were faced with another hill. It was a short but steep hill. In a little over 400 feet the road rises about 60 feet and has parts that are close to 20% grade. For me the problem climbing this hill is not strength since it is so short but actually keeping my front wheel on the ground. I did this by myself last year and had to walk up the top part. This time I was ready and put as much weight as I could towards my front wheel but as I got about three quarters of the way up the hill my front wheel kept bouncing off the ground and I slowly headed to the right off the road with no way steer. I eventually had to get off the bike and walk the last 50 feet up the hill.

When I got to the top the others were there breathing heavy and Dave C looked over at me and said "Are you often called a lying bastard". Which was the best line of the day. I know that I said that this would not be too hilly of a ride but in the first 7 miles we had got up a 10% and 20% grade hill. Now if I'm being picky the 20% grade was not a real climb since, according to NJBikeMap, nothing less than 100 ft is consider a climb but you won't win that argument with somebody who went up a 20% grade no matter how short.

After this we headed through the town of Perkasie who's street laid out and names are the same as center city Philadelphia which is a little strange. Although there were a few more small steep climbs to get out of town by the the time we started the loop around Lake Nockamixion it was more rolling.

The roads around the lake are really nice and quiet. Its a quiet forested area with houses scattered about. There are some ups and downs but nothing too hard. We made our way into Lake Nockamixon Park and stopped for a quick break by the marina. Its a really unbelievably large marina with a lot of boats. We ran into an English women who gave us a quick history lesson about the lake which was man made in the 1980s. She and Dave C, who is also English traded some stories about the old country.

From the marina we continued around the lake with a brief stop by the dam which is a little unusual then continue to wind our way back home. When I planned the route I saw that there were a couple of points of interest from NJBikeMap close by so I extended to route to stop by number 148 which is  a small waterfall. These were all new roads to me but they were very nice. I will have to come back this way some other time to explore some more.

Eventually we made it back to Peace Valley. I decided to take a loop around the Lake Galena partly on the bike path which was a good way to cool down. We ended up with just under 60 miles and according to my GPS had about 3600 feet of climbing which isn't a lot so I stand by my statement that this wasn't a very hilly ride although I can see how some people would disagree with that after the first few miles.

I like this route and am glad I decided to revisit Lake Nockamixon If you are interested in doing this ride you can find the ride sheet HERE

The Long Grind

Riding a century is one of rights of passage as you become a cyclist. Everyone who gets serious about riding usually completes one eventually. I don't do a lot of centuries but will do one every year or two to test out myself out. I don't mind long rides but prefer rides around 60-75 miles at most as after that it becomes a real grind.

This weekend was the PFW event and Laura put a group together to ride the century. I hadn't done a lot of long rides this year but was feeling I was in good shape so I wanted to try the century since it has been a while since I had done one.

This was a safe way to do a century because I would be with a group that I could cruise with and draft off of and I knew it would be a relatively flat ride. Since I knew the roads we would be riding if I really wasn't feeling it I could always bail out early.

I started from my house and pick up the route on Windsor Rd. I arranged to meet Laura's group as they rode by. Herb also decided to join me for the start of the ride and plan to bail out half way through.

We meet Laura's group as expected, sort of. They waved as they went by where Herb and I were waiting but then keep going at full speed so Herb and I never really caught up with them until the first rest stop. I saw Ron there who was recovering from a bad fall last week. He ended up with a lot of road rash and a broken wrist but is on the mend so hopefully will be riding again soon.

At the rest stop we reformed the group and all rode on together at a good pace. I was feeling pretty good despite it being a little hot and humid. One of my biggest problems on long rides is keeping hydrated. This seems to get a little harder as I get older. I use to be able to just drink water as I ride and Gatoraid at the rest stops but this has not been enough lately. I have been trying a couple of different things and now have started taking electrolyte tables a couple of times during the ride. For century rides I also bring a bottle Gatoraid with me and drink that as well as water as I ride.

Our second stop was at 40 miles and a little while after that Herb peeled off to follow the 65 mile ride home. The next stop was at 60 miles and it was starting to get hot but I was still feeling good and strong. I had developed a clicking sound in my right pedal which didn't affect the riding and was hoping it way just dirt in the cleat.

At mile 70 I notice my Gatoraid bottle was moving around a lot in the cage. When I took it out I saw that the cage was broken on one side. The bottle cage still seem to be able to hold the bottle in but I keep expecting the bottle to jump out at any moment.

Mile 80 was our last rest stop in Walenford. I was starting to feel the strain of the heat and long ride. Around 80 miles is almost always where I question why any one would want to do a century because no matter how hard you prepare for a century you never feel good after 80 miles and know the last 20 miles be a little tough. It's more of a mental game than physical. I did spend a little extra time at the last rest stop and when I saw Chris asking if any one wanted a sag I almost took him up on his offer.

After this rest stop I left the group and headed for home on my own because the way the century route was mapped out would have taken me out of may way and added more miles than I wanted. Once I got on the road again I actually felt okay and although I slowed down a little I still maintained a decent pace.

From the last rest stop it was only 15 miles back to my house so I ended up with just 95 miles. Close enough. I could have extended my ride home to get to full hundred miles in but if I had I would have been caught in the down pour that occurred about 10 mins after I got home.

Completing a century is tough and takes a toll on equipment and body. Besides the bottle cage it looks like my cleats reached their end of life as there was no metal left on part of the cleat where I normally step out of the petal. I was also getting a little sore in the saddle and felt like I was starting to cramp up. The century definitely pushed me to my limit but I'm glad I decided to do it.