Brightmeadow on Bicycles
Chronicle of the bike rides I take through Ohio and Michigan and the people I meet on them.
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Grand Tour of Ohio -Dublin
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Happy (New) Bike Day!
Well it was really two days ago, on June 3. For me it was happy NEW bike day yesterday. An online friend asked me about my purchase and this was my reply.
"I did a lot of research online first. I wanted a mid-drive (higher torque for hills and my excess weight, better balance) I wanted to try a variety of ebikes of various brands. I knew if I stepped foot in Y-not first I would feel obligated to buy there because Eric is in our club, and I wanted to find out what else was on the market. So I went to Columbus, went to Johnny Velo first. If they had had the bikes I wanted in stock things might have happened differently. The sales guy was super nice, low-key, friendly, helpful etc. I was looking for a Kona Dew-e, which they would be happy to order for me. He let me ride an Aventon Solera which was fun and fit well, the motor was peppy. But it was my very first ride on any e-bike! I was also looking for an Aventon Ramblas but again, not in stock. The Soltera was a hub-drive bike, not what I wanted. Then I went to REI in Dublin and rode a Tern GSD. It was different! I thought I wanted a cargo bike but found out I didn't. I wanted to ride one of their Co-op CTY bikes, but they didn't have it built yet, although it was in stock. So we were headed home when my husband spotted the Trek store in Dublin, we stopped in, and they put me on a Verve 3. It was a lot like the Aventon but a little heavier. I wanted to ride some more bikes before deciding.
The next day we went to Ashland and they let me ride a Giant Momentum. It felt like the bike geometry was similar to the bike I had as a kid. It was comfortable but the controls didn't have an LCD display. They also let me ride a Cannondale Montero which I did not like at all because my stomach bumped into the handlebar HARD as I was getting on. He pulled a third bike out, I don't remember what it was or what I didn't like. So, on to Ride On in Wooster. She pulled out three bikes for me to ride, I don't remember the first one but it obviously did not impress me. The second was a Specialized Turbo Como. It had a front suspension and seemed to go on its own even before I turned on the pedal assist. It was so smooth. The handlebars were higher for a more upright posture. The bike was so fun to ride! Then I rode a Liv Amiti, and while it was nice, compared to the Como it seemed like it was much harder to turn the pedals. I don't know, maybe it was in the wrong gear or something, but it just wasn't as much fun. I planned on going to Holmesville to the e-bikes of Holmes county store. But my husband and I decided to eat lunch first, and we talked. I had to get back home and change, then get to Lexington by six to host the fiberarts meeting. We really didn't have time to get to Holmesville, try out the Gazelles, and make my schedule, so I would have to wait until at least today. I still had another six or seven bikes on my list. But the Como was marked down substantially due to their downsizing their store, and it was so fun to ride I was giggling. I was afraid if I waited several days, it would be sold to someone else. So I went back and got it. I will probably have some buyer's regret because I saw several good reviews for the Gazelles and also for the Ride1up Prodigy. But there is no substituting for putting your butt on the seat and turning the pedals.
There is nothing wrong with the Trek and all my other bikes are Treks. It is a solid brand. I wanted to try out the Trek Allante too.
As to the bike I bought, I rode 10 very hilly miles this morning, avoiding a few raindrops. On my other bike, there are six spots where I had to get off and walk up the hill on this route. I made it around the circuit the whole way without getting off my bike once. On the two steepest hills, I had to turn it all the way up to turbo mode, and my heart was working. My Fitbit reported 25 minutes cardio and 35 minutes fat-burning. I still had 79% battery at the end of the ride. I'm very happy so far."
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
2023 Adventures
Between getting an upper respiratory infection in July and still recovering from knee replacement last year, I would say that I have not gotten a lot of miles in this year.
But, a week or so ago, I took a trip with the Mid-Ohio Bikers that was fantastic!
One of our members had expressed a desire to ride the Greater Niagara Circle Route. Information on this route can be found on the Niagara Tourism web site here.
We chose to start at Fort Erie, just after crossing the Peace Bridge into Canada. (Note - to do this tour you need a valid passport.) We stayed at a hotel just past the bridge to get a good start in the morning. We rode the route counter-clockwise to put the 50-mile trip on the first day.
The entire route follows along waterways, from the Niagara River, including Niagara Falls, to the Welland Canal. Our hotel the second night was at Lock 7 on the canal. We had a great view of several barges transversing the canal through the locks.
We also saw a whirlpool, where the Niagara River changes direction.
We had fantastic weather. I took my husband along as a private SAG. He followed behind or ahead of us for the two days and had a relaxing time. If we had had more time, I would have visited the Niagara Parks school of horticulture. As we rode our bicycles past, there was an intense fragrance emanating from the rose garden, it almost knocked me off my bicycle.
Monday, June 26, 2023
GOBA 34 D5 & D6
I am writing this post from the comfort of my kitchen table at home. I have finished my usual breakfast of egg and oatmeal and I am still sipping my brewed espresso. Yes, I quit GOBA early. It's raining outside and the weather predicts rain all day. I am thinking of my friends who are still doing GOBA and wondering how their day is going.
So here's what happened:
Day 5.
The route was a mandatory riding day, as we moved from Willoughby, Ohio, south to Kent. Kent, as in Kent State University near Akron, Ohio. The prevailing wind in Ohio is from the southwest, and it proved to be a day where that was true. We didn't have high wind, but it was somewhat breezy.
After taking down the tent and packing gear up, we started the day by pushing the bikes up the hill out of the park. You can see the uphill road on the left side of the photo below.
I stopped for a bagel and egg breakfast at a coffee shop in downtown Willoughby. My friends are much faster riders than I am, so I worried with every bite I took that I was getting further and further behind. I knew the route was going to be hilly for the day from looking at the elevation map in RideWithGPS.
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
GOBA 34 D3 and 4
So yesterday was beautiful.
I experienced a Zen moment when rolling downhill for miles. The sky was blue, the grass was green, pedaling was easy, and flowers were blooming along the side of the road. There was a long downhill for several miles. Pedalling was easy.
I was having a wonderful day.
About half a mile from the end of the route, I noticed some young boys, about 8-10 years old, playing football in the front of their house. They asked me if I wanted some water and held up a bottled water. I checked my water, and I still had half a bottle , so I thanked them but said "no". Then I heard a pop like a cap gun, and I thought maybe they were shooting at me. Within a few seconds I realized that my back wheel sounded funny, so I stopped. Sure enough I had a flat tire. I was only 1/2 mile from GOBAville, where there was a mobile bike store. I had several options. I had a patch kit for a tube. I've changed tires before, in the cool comfort of my husband's garage, with the bike in a stand, and my husband at my elbow correcting me when I was about to do something wrong. I haven't ever changed a tire at the side of the road in the hot sun. I also had a spare tube, but I wasn't sure if it was in the bottom of the pannier on my bike, or the identical pannier that I had left in camp. So I could unload the pannier and root around in the hopes of finding a tube that didn't need patching, but I would still be changing the rear tire at the side of the road. A couple stopped and the man offered to help me change the tire. I told him about hearing the pop, and he said, "Oh, that's bad. Sounds like a blowout." So he started looking for a hole in the sidewall, but instead he found a gash about an inch and a half long in the center of the tire. He said, "well, you can't do any more damage to that tire by pushing it." And he and his wife continued on their way. I kept pushing the bike. Riders kept passing me and asking if I needed help...
After pushing for about 1/4 mile, I rounded the turn into the fairgrounds. At about the same time a pickup slowed down and asked me if I wanted a ride in to the fairgrounds. It was one of the riders who had asked if I was OK. His name was Don and he was from Toledo. I accepted and he loaded my bike and he took me directly to the bike store's mobile shop. So nice of him to offer this practical help.
The poor young man in the tent was overwhelmed with doing intake, as riders rolled in from the day's ride. His boss has gone for a break and he was working all alone. He didn't have time to fix anything, he was just taking orders.
I left my bike with him and walked up to my part of the campground. I showered, then I got a text from my friend from our bike club that she had arrived and was with another friend. They were in the lower half of the fairgrounds. I let them know that I thought dinner was at the expo center, and they should come up to the main entrance. Dinner was being provided by GOBA, and was catered by the same Mexican restaurant we had eaten at the night before. The line was already a quarter of a mile long.
The caterers were half an hour late in arriving, but once they got there, they moved the line along very efficiently. It's hard to visualize 1100 people lined up to eat dinner. The inside of the Expo building was full.
We moved to another building on the fairgrounds where there was a wine-tasting from area vineyards and an entertainer. I received a troubling phone call from a family member so I missed some of his performance.
Afterwards I went to pick up my bike. It wasn't done, but they told me to come back in an hour. It was a long walk from the bike shop tent, so I wandered over to a barn where 4-H kids were practicing barrel racing, as I had done when I was a kid. My friend joined me and we chatted until the appointed time.
When is arrived to pick up my bike, the owner had it ready. He was explaining the difference between my old tire and the new one I had chosen from the three that the young man had offered me. I told him it didn't matter because I considered this a temporary repair, since I planned to buy Vittoria Raddoneurs like I had on my other touring bike. He said he wished he had known that because he had some of those In stock. But it turned out, not in my size. But he has a perfectly acceptable substitute,Michelin puncture-resistant ones. So he said he could install them in a minute or two. He also told me that my cassette was dangerously loose, and that he had fixed it. Probably saved my life at some hypothetical point in the future. And he only charged me $5 for that service.
So it was a blessing that my tire had a blowout.
Today, Day 4, was not a great day. It was a long day, a 50-mile ride. I was up at 4:30 to pack my things, eat breakfast, and get my bags to the loading spot for the truck. Somehow it was 7:00 before I left. I thought I hit a high point on the route where it would be all downhill after a few miles, and I texted my husband with a screen print and a photo.
But I was mistaken. Shortly after the rest stop there was a sharp downhill with a curve, immediately followed by an uphill with a 12 % grade.
Everyone walked uphill. There was no time to shift into a lower gear after the downhill. There were a lot of smaller hills.
It turned into a very hot day. The community organizations in Fairport Harbor prepared a lunch (for 1100 people) that included cabbage rolls that I can say were some of the best I had ever had. After lunch we rode past a lighthouse. Fairport Harbor seemed like a really nice town to come back and tour some day when we have more time.
I stopped at a gas station and bought some sunscreen as the sun was shining very brightly and I could feel my skin crisping up after a couple of days of riding with no sunscreen. The temperature was 82 degrees. The route turned to the west and we had a breeze from the east, so I was looking forward to a tailwind. There were a few hills along the way and the car traffic was really heavy with semi trucks, gravel wagons, and cement trucks blasting by.
I started having difficulty breathing and climbing the hills. There was a couple from Xenia riding near me. I later learned their names were Mike and Sue. They noticed my difficulty and insisted that I stop in the shade across the street. They wanted me to sit down in the shade, but I had trouble doing that because of my recent knee surgery, and to be honest, my weight, so we just stood there. Mike wanted to take my pulse but I told him I could get it from my Fitbit. It showed 130 even after resting for several minutes, but finally fell to 120. My normal resting heart rate is 75. They told me they had just heard of a rider having a massive coronary after complaining of being short of breath. So, they insisted that I call the SAG wagon. I consented. I had ridden about 36 miles.
The SAG (Support and Gear) driver came, drove me to the rest stop, then transferred me to another SAG driver. All the SAGs for the GOBA official ride are amateur radio operators volunteering their time for the whole week. They are "people" people.
GOBAville was set up in a park in Willoughby. As we drove through downtown, I noticed that it looked like a a charming town with numerous restaurants.
When we arrived, I went to sit down for a while. My heart rate did not go down immediately. It was jumping back and forth between 110-120. I walked across the paved area to a Port-a-john and back and my heart was racing again. I visited the medical tent where a doctor examined me, took a history, and told me I was probably just dehydrated. She said if she had any IV's there she would put me on one, but she did not. So her prescription was to go and sit down and drink at least six bottles of water.
The sun was still blazing down. Luckily the "Knights Kingdom" where my tent was set up was not too far away from the medical RV. I got my luggage, took my tent out and pegged the corners to establish my camp spot, then took out my chair and went to rest under the canopy.
I drank four bottles of cold water there, adding NUUN tablets to two of them. I just sat there for a few hours. My friends came by and asked about me. They told me that due to the way the GOBA people had laid out the various areas, the showers were up 96 steps. Other people mentioned 93 steps, some said 98. No way was I going to do that, with the sun blazing down. Finally as the sun was starting to go down, I gathered my things to go up to the shower truck. I found a way where the incline was less. It was quite steep, regardless. As I walked up I noticed the arrows painted on on the pavement indicating that is where we would leave to go ride the next day. My mental reaction was totally irrational, I got MAD. I knew I would NOT be able to ride up out of the camping area, I would have to push my bike. After my shower, I walked down to the village, found a restaurant that looked likely. Had a great kale salad with salmon. A couple of glasses of wine, then walked back to GOBA and fell into my tent and fell asleep immediately.
Grand Tour of Ohio -Dublin
I finally made it to Dublin, Ohio, for the first time in my life. It's only an hour away. I found out on Saturday that it was the ho...
-
Mt. Gilead, that is! Today I had no more excuses. I put my U lock and my charging cables in the panniers, and, voila! Everything else was...
-
Facebook users who like the Women's Cycling page were asked to "share your story with us. How did you get into cycling? Why do you ...
-
Here is the list of must-have items I take with me on every ride. To save time pulling them together, I keep a lot of them in my fanny pa...