Cocoluxe 2014

This past Saturday I went back to Cocoluxe to lead a ride. I had been here a couple of times last year and wanted to explore some more.This years ride was longer and hillier than last years in part because I wanted to hit the highest point in Summit county and in part because I wanted to make the ride longer. There are no flat spots around here so longer is hillier. Here is a link to the actual route we did.

Even though the starting point for this ride is a hour from our normal staring points I had a good turn out. I had Cheryl, Blake, Ron, Marco, Barry, and Jim show up. I knew when I said the ride would be around 4500 feet of climbing that would be like fly paper for Jim. I also expected Ed but I guess he was busy.

There is no warming up in this ride as the climbing starts with in the first mile up and out of town. I have not done a lot of hills this year and I definitely felt my lack of training this year as I was towards the back of the pack. After about 5 miles I had to stop for a few minutes because of what can best be described as a stomach cramp. I get these on rare occasions where I push hard up hills. It probably has something to do with what I ate the night before and how well hydrated I am. The affect is I get a painful cramp in my stomach and start feeling a little light headed. The good news is that it goes away quickly once I sit down for a few minutes.

After I recovered we continued on through some familiar roads in Califon like Rockway, and Guinea Hollow. Our rest stop was in Long Valley at larger Kausiers that was nice enough to let us use the bathroom.

We then skirted the base of Schooleys mountain before continuing our relentless ups and downs. It is a nice area to ride and except for a few stretches there wasn't much traffic. This is a very affluent area with a lot of palatial estates. The route took us through the town of Mendam on our point to the highest point in Summit county. Although I didn't have any more stomach cramps I was still not having my best day and stayed at the back of the pack most of the time.

We came in the back end of Peapack down a really cool downhill then around a lake before our mandatory stop at Cocoluxe for recovery.

So why am I sitting on a wicker chair putting on my shoes (picture courtesy of Jim). Because it is easier to put your shoes on from a chair than standing up next to the car. What other explanation do you need. 

Round Valley in Reverse

This past Saturday I lead a ride to Round Valley Reservoir. This is a popular ride I do almost every year. Its not the hilliest ride I do but is has a couple mild climbs. I haven't done a lot of climbing this year so I wanted to make the ride a little easier.  To do that I decided to do the route backwards. It still has the same amount of vertical climbing but no climb is as steep or long so it feels easier. You also get a killer downhill after the reservoir.

For a complete description of the ride you can read Jim's or Laura's blog. I had a good crowd  it was a perfect day for the ride. It was one of the few times I've been to Round Valley where is wasn't overcast or foggy.

The hardest hill of the day was Lindbergh. We stopped at the bottom to get a look at what is left of Peacocks after it burnt down last year. They still haven't finished the demolition so there is no telling if and when they will rebuild.