Professional Bike Fit Session

I bought a new used bike from Trek Travel.  It is a bike that they took out of service after three years. It is a purple 2017 Trek Silque.  I was looking for a new bike, because I knew the 2010 Madone was not the right bike for me.  The Madone is a better fit than the 520 I bought back in the 1990's.  Both the Silque and the Madone are WSD (Women's Specific Design), in contrast to the 520.    They are both 47 cm frames.  The Silque has built-in suspension, for a cushy ride, while the Madone is a racing bike.  I think I am really going to like the Silque. I am not a racer.  I will be putting the Madone up for sale in the spring, after giving it an overhaul and thorough checkout. 

I took my new bike out for a spin on part of the Richland B&O trail a week or so ago.  I rode about 20 miles, from Route 97 trailhead to North Lake Park and return.  I knew right away the seat was too low.  I adjusted it up some.  The bike is lightweight, and I feel like I am flying! The electronic shifting works so dependably to change gears.  It didn't take any time to get used to it, it is so much better than the mechanical shifting. 

 Since that ride, I have been having knee pain.  At first it was muscle pain too, but that has mostly faded, and the knee pain is somewhat lessening, but it is still sore. 

I suspected it would take me a long time to get the bike adjusted on my own.  So I scheduled an appointment with Tom Wiseman in Akron for a professional bike fitting.   Tom has background in bike mechanical repair, as well as bike racing and coaching.  He's certified by a couple of different organizations for bike fitting.  

His office is in his home in a residential neighborhood.  I parked at the back of the house in front of the garage.  He has a trainer set up for the client's personal bike, as well as a setup to measure pressure points and power output on a bike-fitting frame.  He first spent some time listening to my stories about my riding experience, and took an overview of my health history to understand what body parts may have strengths and weaknesses.  Then he asked about my goals for the fitting.  I explained that I really want to be able to continue riding in multi-day events like PALM (Pedal Across Lower Michigan,) which I did two years ago, or my self-designed tour from Cincinnati to Toledo, or possibly other events, well into my 70's and possibly my 80's, without injuring myself.  Since I have a history with my other bikes of bursitis in the shoulders, and it is coming back now, after previously healing through a series of physical therapy treatments, this is a real concern. 

Since I've had a number of surgeries, including for bariatric gastric bypass, gall bladder removal, total hysterectomy (due to endometrial cancer a couple of years ago), hip replacement on both sides, and knee replacement on the left, and bunion surgery, my body has a lot of weaknesses!  I told him "I don't go too fast, but I go pretty far" like the songwriter Melanie in her record "Brand New Key." So I want to be able to ride long distances, but I'm not concerned about competing for speed.  Maybe in a few years I will feel confident enough to complete a "century" or a hundred-mile ride in a single day. 

He explained that he usually first adjusts for "macro" adjustments before moving to the minor adjustments for more power and speed. So what did he do to my bike?  He added pedal spacers to move my foot position out and better align my foot under my knee.  He replaced the seat, and moved it up another inch and a half (3 centimeters, to be exact.)  He replaced my handlebar stem with one that is higher, to allow me a more upright position that will put less strain on my shoulders. He discovered that the SPD cleats on my biking shoes had spacers in them.  He moved the cleat to a position further back toward the mid-foot, which is where I had been riding on the side with knee replacement.  We discussed how when your knee is replaced, the doctors and physical therapists are usually happy if you get most of your movement back.  The movement can be limited by scar tissue, and the reason physical therapy may hurt is because you are constantly breaking up that scar tissue as it forms.  When pedaling, you may need more movement to allow the foot to make it all the way around the circle.  We discussed the possibility of replacing the Shimano cranks on my bike, which are the shortest they make for that particular chainring, with some shorter third-party cranks, to make it easier for me to get that left knee up around the top of the circle.  I want to try out the other adjustments he's made first to see if I need to do this. 

He took a look at the electronic shifter firmware update history, which he found was missing a few updates.  So he updated them to the latest firmware, which should improve battery life.  (I wasn't even aware this was possible!)  He measured my feet for different shoes, as the Specialized shoes I am currently wearing are a little too narrow for my feet. I already knew that, but they were what was available at my local bike shop when I bought them.  Even with the narrowness, they are much better than wearing tennis shoes with a flexible sole.   He let me try on a pair of Lake shoes that fit my feet.  They were heavenly!  They were also a little bit spendy at $350.  So I will put that on my Christmas wish list.  Since he had made so many "macro" adjustments, doing the "micro" adjustments probably would not give much additional benefits, given my goals.  So I didn't try out the super-sensitive fitting fixture.  He wants me to follow up with him after I have had a chance to get some miles in. 

My session with him was on Friday.  Yesterday, I rode up and down the road a couple of times, outside my door. It was cold but sunny.  I overdressed for the cold, so going up the hills got me overheated quickly, and damp.  I only made a couple of attempts up the hill.  I didn't get any farther up the hill with this newly adjusted bike than I have with the old bikes.  But I really didn't give it a chance, because I did not warm up first.  It normally takes me a couple of miles on flat ground to fully warm up and get the endorphins flowing.  I'm hoping for an Indian spring in November to get a few more miles in.  He asked me for my mileage the last three years and I guestimated 600 last year, and 1000 this year.  Here's my actual stats for the last three years, since I started using MapMyRide to record my distances. I was surprised at how many miles I rode! 

All in all, I found the bike fitting experience with Tom to be very helpful.  I really appreciate his professional expertise in setting up my bike to fit my body and accomodate my strengths and weaknesses.  I also really appreciated the way he listened to me about my experience and my goals, instead of having a one-size-fits all method.  It was a very positive experience. 

Random bits

 I planned on riding today, put on my thermal tights this morning and my fleece bolero over my jersey.  Then realized how cold it was in the house. I put on a windbreaker too.  Then I took the compost out to the garden, and I realized it was raining a very fine mist.  The weather report said partly cloudy and mid-50's, but no rain.  So I decided I didn't really feel like getting chilled a long way from home, and decided to wait until this afternoon to ride somewhere closer to home than the trip to Paris I had planned.  Paris, Ohio, that is. 

So I went to my knitting studio and worked on my bicycling hat. 

It is now afternoon, and it is still cloudy and chilly.  I was excited to find that my package containing a rear pannier rack that I had ordered from Cycling Kinetics for my new bike had arrived.  I brought my bike into the kitchen (because it was still cold in the garage) and set about installing the rack. 

The rack came disassembled.  Because I had to specify my year, make and model, I assume that the components for the rack are put together for each order.  I assembled all the pieces, using the provided tools, and tried to attach it to the bike, only to find that the bracket/clamp that goes around the seatpost is too small in diameter to fit this bike.  Darn it! 

I bought it through PayPal and my credit card, so I should have no trouble getting a refund, even if there is a dispute from the company.  I sent off a couple of emails, one to the company I ordered it from, and one to the company that charged me through Paypal.  I diassembled everything and put it back in the box.   SO SAD.  

Friday is my appointment with the bike fitting specialist, Tom Wiseman with Cycling Solutions in Akron.  He has years of training and is certified with four different organizations.

• Professional Bike Mechanics Association
• Bike Fit
• International Bike Fitting Institute
• Serotta International Cycling Institute

I am especially disappointed that the rack did not fit the bike, as he specifically requested that I bring everything I plan to ride with on the bike.  I was so glad when it came today!   But I am sure he can deal with the situation. 

Since my first ride on the new bike, I have been having different aches and pains than normal.  So I know that it needs adjustment.  I am really looking forward to having a bike that fits for the weekend!

Maiden Voyage - Trek Silque

I have a new-to-me used bike.  It is a 2017 Trek Silque.  It is the newest bike I now own.  I bought it after a recent ride when the bursitis in my shoulders was starting to bother me again. A couple of years ago I spent several months in physical therapy to relieve the bursitis.  I don't want to do that again.

 How did I get to this point? 

 My first "good" bike was a Trek 520 that I bought, I think sometime in the mid 1990's.  I can narrow the year down by the paint color, according to Vintage-Trek.com

92, black forest green with gold decals
93, black forest green with gold decals
94, black forest green with gold decals
95, black forest green with gold decals

What's wrong with this bike? Almost nothing. It has every feature I need to fit me perfectly for a touring bike.  The top tube is a little bit too long for me because the top bar was sized for someone with longer arms.  The 520 is a unisex bike. The longer frame is supposed to absorb more road shock for long days in the saddle.  The frame says it is a 48 cm.   I had a new stem for the handlebars put on to bring the handlebars closer, to attempt to correct the situation, but it's still not right. 

After my hips started bothering me, when I still lived in Michigan, I visited another Trek dealer and got a mint-green Electra.  This bike has the pedals more forward, the pedaling position is more upright.  It is like bicycling in an easy chair.  My hips got worse, (not from the bike, from sitting too much at work.) and I needed a hip replacement (or three.)  I didn't ride it a lot, but I did ride it, in between hip and knee replacement surgeries. My first 40-mile charity ride in Grand Rapids was on this bike.  The news media took my picture. No one could believe I would bring that bike on a long ride.  It's a heavy bike, but comfortable.  I ride it on "slow-roll" rides. It is also good on gravel roads. 

I found an ancient Schwinn Collegiate at a garage sale for $5.  It felt a lot like the Sears bike I had as a kid.  It's very comfortable.  But it's a 3-speed, it's rusty, and I don't trust it a lot.  I keep it at our farm for an "emergency" bike if I need a bike ride.  I did buy a new basket for it.  The basket cost more than the bike, including the new tires. 

A few years ago I decided to find another bike.  I found a Women's Specific Design (WSD) Trek Madone for sale near me with a 47 cm carbon fiber frame. I believe it is from 2010, according to the paint color. The Madone is a racing bike.  I am a slow rider.  The riding position is pedals to the rear, shoulders forward. It is a stiff bike, there is a lot of power transfer to the bike.  I've been riding it all summer, alternating with the 520.  It fits me better.  But my shoulders are still sore.  As a racing bike, it doesn't have a rack for panniers.  I tried using one from Arkel that mounts on the seat post, but on the first ride, the rack rubbed on the back tire.  I tried to adjust it and ended up ripping off the Velcro that attaches it to the seat post.  So if I need to carry anything that doesn't fit in the handlebar bag, I have to put it in a back pack.  The bike is really light! And it is fast. 

So, when the opportunity to get this 2017 Silque bike came along, I was thinking of my shoulders, and whether I should start physical therapy again, which put me in the mood to buy it.  I decided I could sell one or more of the other bikes.  It's carbon fiber, and WSD.  It is much newer than any of my other bikes. It's the women's version of the Domane. Trek has since eliminated this model, or rolled its features into the current Domane. 

 Earlier this year, I decided to take the Trek 520 on my bike ride across Ohio, and looked into replacing the front chain ring.  Parts availability may become an issue soon, for the 520.  

So my reasoning for why I need a new bike is: 

•  Parts availability
• Avoid injury or expensive physical therapy
• n+1 rule: you always need one more bike than you currently have

I've had the Silque for a week, but had not ridden it until today.  

First I had to order pedals for it, as it did not come with pedals.  I put my old pedals from the 520, from before I updated to Shimano Pedaling Dynamics (SPD) pedals, on it.  It rained the next day,  and I didn't want to get it muddy on the first trip out.  Then we traveled  to the farm.  It was sunny there while we were driving, but rained the next day.  The day we drove back it was sunny again.  When we got back home, it was raining again.  The good news was that the new pedals had arrived, so off went the old pedals and on went the new.  Ed made me do this work, he says "You have been trained."

I could have ridden yesterday, but had some lingering anxiety over doing my first ride.  So today I finally took it out.  I decided to go on the local bike trail, instead of driving to a destination ride, since I assumed I would be needing to make some adjustments.  

Almost immediately, I noticed the seat was too low.  I was bending my knees much more than usual.  After a mile, I stopped and raised the seat probably a half inch.  I had been told never to adjust more than a quarter-inch at a time, but this was an initial adjustment, so I broke the rule.  When stopping and taking my shoe off the pedals, I realized I need to adjust the pedals when I got home,  to release more easily. It took quite a bit of effort to disconnect my right foot. I had read the literature for the new pedals, and there is a way to adjust how easily you can release the clip.   I am still not clipping in on my left shoe, because the knee is still a little stiff due to the knee replacement.   Good thing, because if I had discovered mid-ride how hard it was to get both my left and right shoes out of the clips, I surely would have fallen off the bike. 

 After 10 miles, I was internally grading the bike as I rode along.  My shoulders were NOT hurting.  My hands were NOT numb.  My legs were NOT tired.  My butt hurt.  

I am going to have to get a new saddle.  The WSD original saddle is narrower than any of my other saddles, and as hard as a 2x4 piece of lumber.  

I turned around at 10.5 miles and I was very conscious of the saddle the whole way back. But all in all, it was a great ride.  The electronic shifting on this bike seems very reliable, much easier than on the Madone, where sometimes I have to fight with the shifters to get into the desired gear.  The disadvantage of the electronic shifting is that I will need to pay attention to the battery status before riding.  Mechanical shifters always work. 

The temperature was in the upper 70's, not bad for late October. Pumpkins were still in the field.   The leaves were still brightly colored and haven't all been blown away by wintry rains.  I might have seen a bald eagle at the marsh area adjoining the trail, circling above in the sky.  Or perhaps it was just a vulture.  I made it back to my car before it starting raining.  On my way home I saw a rainbow.  When the traffic stopped I got a shot of it. 

By the time I got home the clouds had rearranged themselves. The dark clouds were almost purple, and the white ones were brilliantly white. 

I looked up a few minutes later and saw another rainbow. 

  The good news is that my knees are not hurting the way they were after my last ride.  In another few weeks, if we have some more good weather, I may have a new favorite bike.  I am thinking I may sign up for a fitting session with a certified bike fitter.  

On another note,  I was cleaning out some paperwork, and came across some maps I had ordered from the Ohio Department of Transportation back in the early 90's.  This was prior to the existence of  many paved bike or multi-use trails in Ohio.  The trail I rode today, the Richland B&O trail, is 25 years old this year, and it was one of the earlier trails in Ohio.  It is very interesting to compare these maps now to the routes suggested by Google. For example, here is a photo of the area around Paris, Ohio that I plan on riding soon.  Or perhaps in the springtime, since it's Paris, after all?  The green lines are the suggested roads for bike travel, because of light automobile traffic.  Red lines suggest busier roads, to be used with caution.  I don't know if ODOT still maintains a catalog of roads suitable for bike riding.  That would be an interesting question to investigate. 

Grand Tour - Versailles

 If you draw a line from Cincinnati to Cleveland, you will be cutting Ohio in half diagonally.  The line will be close to the path of Interstate 71.  In general, the terrain to the north and west of I-71 is flat as a pancake.  And in general, the terrain to the south and east of I-71 is hilly, increasing in elevation as you approach the Appalachians.  If you ride a bike, paying attention to elevation is important. 

Yesterday I headed west, to the cities of New Bremen and Versailles.  New Bremen is a community with German heritage.  I noticed the markings for an Oktoberfest 10K run marked on the streets as I pedaled past.  I later learned that was part of the Minster Oktoberfest. 

Versailles, as you might guess from the name, is a village with some French heritage.  The town was originally named Jacksonville, but in 1837 the residents petitioned for a name change to Versailles.  The residents pronounce the name of the Ohio town "Ver-SALES" instead of the French "Ver-SIGH".  There is some local lore that the German residents of the town were not happy with the French pronunciation. 

I wondered what unpopularity with President Jackson led to the name change.  I found that during Jackson's second term, he dealt with the threatened secession of South Carolina over tariffs by threatening the use of military force.  He vetoed renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States.  He implemented various reforms to eliminate waste and corruption in government, but at the same time, his presidency marked the beginning of the "spoils system" where the majority party takes advantage of cronyism and nepotism. He signed the Indian Removal Act to forcibly remove Native American tribes to Indian Territories, and opposed the abolitionist movement.  In 1835, he survived the first assassination attempt on a sitting President. 

The residents, in 1837, preferred to change the name from Jacksonville to Versailles.  Versailles, France is a suburb on the outskirts of Paris, only about 17 km from the city center. Versailles is remembered as the seat of the French Court during the reigns of Louis XIV through XVI, and for its fabulous palace and gardens, designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.  Known as a named city since at least the eleventh century, it was an important center of trade, being on the road from Paris to Normandy. Being known as the "cradle of the French Revolution," its population declined until recovering in the twentieth century.  Today it is an important center for government, administration, the military, and tourism.  Its population was approximately 85,000 in 2018.

Versailles, Ohio, is a village of 2,687 as of the 2010 census.  It is a farming community, the motto proudly displayed on the town's welcoming sign is "People-Pride-Progress" and views itself as a progressive community.  The village hosts an annual Poultry Festival on the second full weekend in June.  Weaver Brothers Eggs is an important local business. The village has also sponsored a stop on the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure twice in the past, most recently in 2007, and was scheduled to host again in 2020, until COVID-19 forced the postponement of the ride until 2021. 

I started my trip in New Bremen, Ohio.  It is approximately two hours from my home.  I got up early and left home around 6:30, before the sun came up.  I arrived in New Bremen and parked at the "Crown" dome in the park just south of the bicycle museum. 

  Of course it was too early for a visit, but I hoped to be back before the museum closed.  I was glad the restrooms in the park were open after my long drive.  They appeared to be in a new building and were sparkling clean. I checked my map and had a moment of panic when I could not find my planned route.  After a few minutes I realized I had sent a google route map to my email, and I retrieved it. 

The sky was overcast when I arrived. It was a little bit chilly so I put on my bolero.  This is a very useful garment as it keeps you warm, but isn't bulky to store when it gets warmer.   I started south on the bike trail, the Miami and Erie Trail, along the parking lot. It was crushed limestone, but a good surface and my bike handled it easily. I remembered riding on gravel on my recent trip in Cincinnati, and the flat tires that resulted in my purchasing "touring" tires instead of the "racing" tires or "slicks" that I had before.  I realized before I got too far that I had forgotten to check my tire pressure, so I turned around and returned to my car.  I filled the tires to 85 pounds of pressure and started again. 

The trail ran next to a canal.  I saw a blue heron fishing in the canal.  I also noticed the floating deck some homeowners had installed in the canal. Looks like a nice place for a party. 

After a few short miles, the trail came to an end and I ventured onto the city streets.  Traffic was very light.  Of course, it was still early.  I didn't notice when I reached the end of New Bremen and arrived in Minster. I turned south onto State Highway 66.  In town, the traffic was heavy, and there wasn't much shoulder. But a few miles further out, it was better.  

It was quite pleasant, as the paved shoulder was at least 24 inches wide, and I did not feel in any danger from passing cars.  I reached Fort Laramie.  It seemed a very nice little town.

  I kept pedaling, and was well south of Fort Laramie when I realized I had overshot my planned turn (it was on another route map, not the one I retrieved) to go to the Fort Laramie state park.  I was too far past it to turn around and still return home by a reasonable time, so I resolved to drive past it in my car once my visit was complete. 

As the morning wore on, I realized I was riding into a headwind and crosswind.  Riding a bike has a lot to do with what you are thinking as well as your muscles.  I was mad because I didn't go to the park, and I was discouraged by the wind.  When I got to an intersection with Short Road, I looked at the map again and realized I had no reason to go farther south and east as on my route map, having missed the park, so I decided that taking Short road would be a shortcut.  

Remember that I started out this post saying how Ohio is generally flat north and west of I-71?  Well, Short road was an exception.  This road had a number of rolling hills, and I ended up walking up one of them.  I wondered if my camera was still rolling (It wasn't, the battery had died) to document my lack of hill-climbing ability.  

Eventually after a number of zigs and zags and railroad crossings

 and hills, I reached the Village of Russia. 

  I stopped at a grocery, the only place that I spotted that might have a restroom.  I then proceeded on to Versailles. 

 Boring CPAs? It sounds like a joke. 

The town square had several sculptures that were reminiscient of Paris. 

I ate lunch at the Sideliners Sports Bar and Grill.  I had to take my bike inside, because I realized that although I had my bike lock, I did not have the key for it. The owners were really nice about it. The hamburger was great. 

The trip back to New Bremen was much quicker.  I had a tailwind, and it was more of a gradual downhill.  I passed through the town of Willowdell and continued north.  I arrived in time to spend half an hour inside the Bicycle Museum of America.  It was amazing! I will need to return to spend more time.  There were Harley Davidson bikes, a Corvette, the first bicycle-like two-wheeled transport, many penny-farthing cycles, and many more.The museum has over 900 bikes in its collection, although all of them are not on display at once. 

After my visit to the bicycle museum, I did drive past the Fort Laramie  state park.  It was beautiful.  I saw a few bicyclists on State Route 362, and it had a wide shoulder.  The lake was only a few feet from the highway, and had many accessible parking lots.  There was a sign advertising an AirBnb right across the highway.  I'd like to come back and stay here sometime, too.   

Grand Tour - Venice

If you have a gravel bike, yesterday's ride is something you might like to try!  About 3 miles of the 32 miles was gravel.  I rode on Township roads that were more like EXCELLENT bike trails, because they were so narrow.  I rode on County roads that were more like highways.  And I rode on state highway with very little shoulder and very courteous drivers. 

There are three places in Ohio that have been named Venice.  Two no longer exist, and the third is Venice Township in Seneca County.  There is no actual village or city named Venice that I could find. 

Venice, Italy is "the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark’s Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city’s red roofs." - from Google, and from Wikipedia, "Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. Venice is known for several important artistic movements—especially during the Renaissance period—has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi.

Although the city is facing some challenges (including an excessive number of tourists and problems caused by pollution, tide peaks and cruise ships sailing too close to buildings), Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has been ranked many times the most beautiful city in the world. It has been described by the Times Online as one of Europe's most romantic cities and by The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". 

Venice Township, Ohio, on the other hand, holds the small farming community of Attica.  There are two other named places in Venice Township, Caroline, and Carrothers.  

My route took me through Caroline, a couple of houses, but not as far south as Carrothers.  I also visited Celeryville and Willard. 

I parked at Myers Park on the west side of Attica, and headed west into a light wind.  I rode for two miles on County Road 56, with cornfields either side of the road.  

Then turned south onto  narrow, paved Township road 79. 

  A scant half-mile later, I headed southeast on County Road 12.   Arriving in Caroline, Google directed me to turn and ride down a gravel alley.  I kept going a few more blocks and then turned south on State Route 4, which had light traffic.  A few hundred feet later and I turned east onto a township road.  If you want to ride this ride, you could shortcut it by heading south on Route 4 out of Attica, ride directly to Caroline, and pick up the route here.  I headed southeast on County Road 35. 

Some of the paved township roads here are no wider than a bike path.  In fact, they are named "trails".  Be careful, there are tractors and heavy equipment occasionally on these roads.  But by and large, I was the only one using the road. 

I arrived at the Willard Marsh Wilderness area and was confronted by about 3 miles of gravel. I was riding a touring bike with 28 cm tires, and navigated it successfully, even if the ride was a little rough. 

When I got to New Philadelphia (this is marked as a town, but I only noticed a Toro dealer,) I thought I would turn left on a township road to avoid the state highway half a mile east.  Google maps showed that it rejoined the highway just south of Celeryville.  There was migrant worker housing along this road.  Celeryville is a "muck" area where vegetables are grown, including the Ohio home of Bolthouse farms.  However, half a mile down this road, the road petered out into a farm lane, and the guys working on tractors told me I could not get through.  I had to retrace my route back to highway  103. 

There was a little more traffic on the state route, but every single driver was courteous.  Some waited behind me until it was safe to pass. Very little paved shoulder on this road.  Celeryville passed by in a blink of an eye, and then I was in Willard.  I noticed a train engine and caboose in a city park as I passed through.  

Under a railroad overpass, that felt like a tunnel, then left onto a county road.  Very light traffic here.  Heading west toward Attica.  There was a place where the road inexplicably detoured north and then south over a railroad track that involved climbing up over the overpass and then down a hill to turn at the bottom, but generally, the road was straight and flat.  As I arrived back in Attica, I noticed the cemetary on the north side of the road had a sign with "Venice" on it, so I paused for a photo op.  One mile to go! 

(Edited to include video footage and map)

Go by Bike

I wonder where I can safely "go by bike" in my neighborhood. To find a route into Mansfield, I made an exploratory run on Sunday.   I rode past the Rocky Fork Bridge on Mt. Zion road. 

Then I rode under I-71.  The steers in the pasture all stopped to look at me, as if they have never seen a bicyclist before. 

Turning right on Ford Road, I encountered a steep hill.  At the bottom of the hill was a vulture.  There were three other vultures circling above.  I had some trepidation about continuing, as there was another steep hill just beyond the vulture.  After waiting for a while, a car passed by the vulture and it flew away.  I considered my options.  If I turned around, this trip was for nothing.  So I continued.  

The vulture flew away when I approached. 

I turned on Hickory Lane.  It was not a bad road, but there were some hills.  There was a run-down house with about 30 cars in the yard.  I did not feel too comfortable there. It felt like "Deliverance."  I kept riding.  I changed my mind about my planned route when I reached Illinois Ave.  I had planned to turn left, but when I got there I saw that I would have to climb a hill over the railroad bridge.  I could see a relatively flat path to SR 430 to my right, but I knew traffic would be heavier there.  So I chose to go straight ahead, down Hickory.  There was a pretty good downhill, followed by a gradual uphill past an auto-wrecking firm and the Madison soccer fields.  Eventually I arrived at Park Avenue East.  Since it was Sunday afternoon, traffic was light.  I crossed over, and rode to the railway underpass and intersection with Route 42.  Went through the underpass and up the hill.  Dinner was waiting in the oven at home,  and my riding had been slow.  I was worried that the roast might become overdone, so I called Ed to come and pick me up.  

While I was standing there, I reflected on Hemingway's words 

“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.”  Truer words were never spoken.  I never noticed this street before, or the view of the old abandoned Westinghouse plant. 

Women's Cycling Day

 I joined a group of 5 other women at the Cycling Sports Center this morning for a 7.55 mile ride.  It was sunny and breezy.  We rode from the bike shop up around Emma Lane, and then over to Crider Road and back, looping down Laver Road.  

They have a really nice facility, with space for spin classes, educational 'booths' like we used to have at work with big-screen monitors, a small coffee shop, and a large assortment of cycling kit.  They carry Bianchi and Fuji bikes, among others. 

Lori Linn, a local Bianchi ambassador, served us pie and coffee and gave us encouragement and a bag of swag.  I bought a pair of padded gloves, which I needed, to replace the gloves I have been wearing all summer.  Lisa, the owner, pointed out that the mesh gloves tend to stretch (I know, because I already have a similar pair that have done so) so I got a medium instead of a large. 

I did not pre-order a jersey for this event, so I stand out!