Here in Boston last week, the Boston Pops orchestra performed “The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers”. It featured Robert Deniro, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris reading speeches by Jack, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy, set to music performed by the Boston Pops.
While driving back from picking up a Crateworks bike box that I purchased from someone on CraisgList (more to come on this recent development), I heard some media coverage of the event on NPR. During the story, they played an excerpt of JFK's "We Choose to go to the Moon" speech.
Although I have heard it before, on this day I was particularly moved by the part where JFK says "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard...” I couldn't help but think about my goal of riding in Paris-Brest-Paris, and the seemingly never answered question of why.
Sure, I like to ride my bike, but why ride when it hurts? Why ride to the point of exhaustion? Why ride in the rain and the cold? I guess I choose to do these things because they are hard.
It's been interesting to think about what exactly my motivations are for this craziness. I suppose I feel there is value in trying to accomplish something that is not easy. Hard work is good, and it's important to strive for something, right? We don't want to just waltz through live, do we?
Other than my lovely wife Jane, who is number one of course, there are two main focal points of my life right now – cycling and my ceramic art work. Both provide excellent challenges.
Instead of riding all these miles on the bike, I suppose I could really apply myself and become a great artist, maybe. However, this is harder than riding, and I am at heart a lazy person. Riding is just brute force. It requires no thought. Making great art is infinitely harder. Maybe that will be my next challenge.
Knee Update:
My knee feels fine most of the time. I rode 20 miles over the weekend, and could feel it talking to me a little bit. This weekend, Chuck and I are going to ride 100 miles to Cape Cod, leaving at 9PM. I can't wait to try out my new light and generator hub setup! Hopefully the knee won't get in the way.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
300K, check. Bad knee, also check.
I completed the Boston Brevet series 300K ride on Saturday. Total time, 15 hours 50 minutes, which was 10 minutes faster than what I was hoping for.
At the start:
The route:
The elevation:
Overall, this brevet didn't have as steep hills as the 200K, but for long stretches there were no flats. It was up, down, up, down, etc. Nice, but sometimes the downhills aren't so restful. Descending at 30-35 MPH (with some braking - I am not a fast downhiller) keeps you on your toes, and not so much in the saddle.
Chuck couldn't make this ride, so I went out solo. My wonderful wife Jane drove me to the start in Concord MA for 3:30 AM. This means we had to leave our house at 3:00. I wonder how many of those 3AM rides I can buy by doing various house projects.
The ride officially started at 4:00. It was really cool to be riding through the deserted roads of Concord, Lincoln, and Sudbury in the pitch black. I was one of the last riders (as I am the Slow Randonneur) in a group of about 30. It was great to be rolling along silently, just watching all the red lights of the bikes ahead moving through the darkness. One interesting point was when I all of a sudden I noticed the line of red dots start to break apart into individual little dots moving side to side. It was soon apparent that the cause was a huge tree branch across the road.
I was dropped by the pack after 5 or so miles, by my best guess. Riding in the dark really seemed to block out time and speed. I couldn't see my speedometer/odometer, and was just navigating by the backlit screen of my GPS. It was quite wonderful. Everything was so calm, quiet, and peaceful. No cars, no hassle, just gliding along through the cool night. I think I am going to enjoy the night time riding aspect of the longer brevets.
The 300K was certainly the most challenging ride I have done to date, brevet or otherwise. It ended up being 189 miles (I put in a little bit of bonus distance), 39 miles longer than my longest ride. However, as I have stated before, these brevets are a completely different ballgame from rides I have done previously due to the amount of climbing. During this ride, my back hurt, my butt hurt, and most of all, my left knee really hurt.
The term "pain management", which I believe I heard in a great documentary I just watched called "Bicycle Dreams", kept floating into my thoughts. When something started hurting, I would concentrate on it, and then something else would take its place in the pain line. This isn't too say that the whole ride was painful, but the end sure was.
I have had a sore back and butt before. It's no big deal, it's part of the whole package, but the knee thing is new and very disconcerting. I went to the doctor today and she said I most likely have patellar arthritis. She prescribed 3 Advil 3 times a day and gave me a referral for physical therapy. In week or two, if still hurts I go back for an MRI. I think the pain will go away in that time frame, but am very worried it will rear it's ugly head if I get back on the bike. When I asked the doc about the probabilty of being able to ride pain free in 3 weeks, she did not seem too confidant. This could put the 400K on June 5 in jeopardy. Major, major bummer.
Lessons learned:
At the start:
The route:
The elevation:
Overall, this brevet didn't have as steep hills as the 200K, but for long stretches there were no flats. It was up, down, up, down, etc. Nice, but sometimes the downhills aren't so restful. Descending at 30-35 MPH (with some braking - I am not a fast downhiller) keeps you on your toes, and not so much in the saddle.
Chuck couldn't make this ride, so I went out solo. My wonderful wife Jane drove me to the start in Concord MA for 3:30 AM. This means we had to leave our house at 3:00. I wonder how many of those 3AM rides I can buy by doing various house projects.
The ride officially started at 4:00. It was really cool to be riding through the deserted roads of Concord, Lincoln, and Sudbury in the pitch black. I was one of the last riders (as I am the Slow Randonneur) in a group of about 30. It was great to be rolling along silently, just watching all the red lights of the bikes ahead moving through the darkness. One interesting point was when I all of a sudden I noticed the line of red dots start to break apart into individual little dots moving side to side. It was soon apparent that the cause was a huge tree branch across the road.
I was dropped by the pack after 5 or so miles, by my best guess. Riding in the dark really seemed to block out time and speed. I couldn't see my speedometer/odometer, and was just navigating by the backlit screen of my GPS. It was quite wonderful. Everything was so calm, quiet, and peaceful. No cars, no hassle, just gliding along through the cool night. I think I am going to enjoy the night time riding aspect of the longer brevets.
The 300K was certainly the most challenging ride I have done to date, brevet or otherwise. It ended up being 189 miles (I put in a little bit of bonus distance), 39 miles longer than my longest ride. However, as I have stated before, these brevets are a completely different ballgame from rides I have done previously due to the amount of climbing. During this ride, my back hurt, my butt hurt, and most of all, my left knee really hurt.
The term "pain management", which I believe I heard in a great documentary I just watched called "Bicycle Dreams", kept floating into my thoughts. When something started hurting, I would concentrate on it, and then something else would take its place in the pain line. This isn't too say that the whole ride was painful, but the end sure was.
I have had a sore back and butt before. It's no big deal, it's part of the whole package, but the knee thing is new and very disconcerting. I went to the doctor today and she said I most likely have patellar arthritis. She prescribed 3 Advil 3 times a day and gave me a referral for physical therapy. In week or two, if still hurts I go back for an MRI. I think the pain will go away in that time frame, but am very worried it will rear it's ugly head if I get back on the bike. When I asked the doc about the probabilty of being able to ride pain free in 3 weeks, she did not seem too confidant. This could put the 400K on June 5 in jeopardy. Major, major bummer.
Lessons learned:
- Rides will have ups and downs - I felt good for long parts of this ride and felt bad for long parts of this ride. Then good, then bad, etc. Getting through the bad will get you to the good, and the good will be that much better for it.
- Getting to Paris just got a whole lot harder - 'Nuff said.
Monday, May 3, 2010
They know me in France now
200K down and only 1300K to go.
Saturday, my friend Chuck and I participated in the Boston Brevet series 200K. Leaving from Hanscom Air Field base in Conord MA, the ride went north to New Boston NH, around NH for a while, and then back down to Hanscom.
Here's the elevation for those of you scoring at home.
Our first brevet, the 100K two weeks ago, seemed a bit more challenging. The temperature was in the low 40s and it was raining. It’s amazing what a better weather can do for you. We finished the 200K in 10 hours and 15 minutes, over 3 hours better than the maximum time of 13:30. It was a nice day and the ride went well for both of us.
This ride was particularly special because it is my first brevet in which the results are sent to Paris to be certified. It is these rides that are sanctioned by Audax Club Parisien that I need to complete in order to qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris next year. It also counts as part of the brevet series I am trying to complete this year. I can also get this awesome medal.
If I complete the series (200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K), I become a Super Randonneur and can get this even more awesome medal.
Earlier last week, I was starting to get a bit anxious about the ride. Once again, it was the prospect of the hills that was making me nervous. But, I am glad to report that the hills on the 200K were formidable but not insurmountable.
At the highest elevation point of the ride, Chuck and I stopped to take in the view (of course, I forgot my camera) and another randonneur rode up behind us and we started to chat. It turns out that he rode Paris-Brest-Paris in 2007. I told him of my tentative plans to ride PBP in 2011, but that I was unsure if I could do it, that I was unsure about riding all night, etc. He said not to worry. This was great to hear, and we even finished before him! Granted, he was probably 15 years my senior.
Overall, the 200K was a great ride. Nice day, beautiful scenery, smooth and uneventful ride. The cue sheets warned to “watch out for dogs in New Hampshire”, but we encountered none.
Lessons learned:
Saturday, my friend Chuck and I participated in the Boston Brevet series 200K. Leaving from Hanscom Air Field base in Conord MA, the ride went north to New Boston NH, around NH for a while, and then back down to Hanscom.
Here's the elevation for those of you scoring at home.
Our first brevet, the 100K two weeks ago, seemed a bit more challenging. The temperature was in the low 40s and it was raining. It’s amazing what a better weather can do for you. We finished the 200K in 10 hours and 15 minutes, over 3 hours better than the maximum time of 13:30. It was a nice day and the ride went well for both of us.
This ride was particularly special because it is my first brevet in which the results are sent to Paris to be certified. It is these rides that are sanctioned by Audax Club Parisien that I need to complete in order to qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris next year. It also counts as part of the brevet series I am trying to complete this year. I can also get this awesome medal.
If I complete the series (200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K), I become a Super Randonneur and can get this even more awesome medal.
Earlier last week, I was starting to get a bit anxious about the ride. Once again, it was the prospect of the hills that was making me nervous. But, I am glad to report that the hills on the 200K were formidable but not insurmountable.
At the highest elevation point of the ride, Chuck and I stopped to take in the view (of course, I forgot my camera) and another randonneur rode up behind us and we started to chat. It turns out that he rode Paris-Brest-Paris in 2007. I told him of my tentative plans to ride PBP in 2011, but that I was unsure if I could do it, that I was unsure about riding all night, etc. He said not to worry. This was great to hear, and we even finished before him! Granted, he was probably 15 years my senior.
Overall, the 200K was a great ride. Nice day, beautiful scenery, smooth and uneventful ride. The cue sheets warned to “watch out for dogs in New Hampshire”, but we encountered none.
Lessons learned:
- Respect the hills, but do not fear them – the 200K had twice as many vertical feet as the 100K and I felt better at the end of the 200
- Keep eating during the day – the turkey sandwich I ate at the halfway point really kept me going
- Boudreaux’s Butt Paste may be an essential element to completing longer rides – I won’t go into any more detail
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