She Cycles by the Seashore

Merry Christmas!

 
Our little tree and train set

 
Our bigger tree and bigger train set, and Tim, who is waiting for the Santa Kitty.

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas! Happiness, Health, and Peace to everyone in the New Year.

 
photos by Chris

Life Happens

About three weekends ago, Mr. Suitcase and I went for a beautiful autumn ride in Rhinebeck, NY, after visiting the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. It was the perfect combination of knitting and cycling for me. I had intended to come home and post the photos of our ride for you in the next day or two, but Life had Other Ideas.

If you read Mr. Suitcase's blog, you know by now that our kitty, Charlie, had become very ill that week, and we lost him to IBD/intestinal cancer on October 24. It was a heartbreaking time, seeing him become thinner and weaker and not being able to help. We miss him terribly, but at least he is no longer suffering.

Since that time, we've been visiting shelters, looking to give another kitty or two a good home. And we've been catching up on things we neglected in order to give Charlie the 24/7 care he needed. Consequently, there has been little or no cycling this fall, outdoors or in. My bike has been in the trainer, I received the Indoor Cycling Workouts book I ordered from Amazon, and yet, foot has still not been put to pedal.

A successful blog is one that keeps readers coming back, with regular posts full of interesting information, or a witty take on current events and experiences, with lots of eye-catching images. I'm afraid I've provided none of these in the last month, or even since our move this summer. For that reason, I decided that it is best to stop blogging, at least for the winter. I may reconsider when springtime comes and a new season is upon us. But for now, it is time for me to embrace the off-season. Thank you for your comments and your friendship, and I hope you have a safe winter full of good riding.

The Century That Wasn't

Thank you for your emails asking how the century went.  Unfortunately, after a year of dreaming and semi-training for the Tri-State, my knee had other ideas. I'd over-exerted it in the Folks on Spokes ride the week before, and when I woke up that Saturday morning, I knew I probably couldn't ride ten miles, much less the hundred. My husband, Mr. Suitcase, and our good friend Larry did the ride, and I tried not to feel like a failure, propping said knee up with pillows back at the hotel room. There is always next year, and, now that we are on the other side of our moving house, I will be more prepared.

What to do in the meantime? Peloton Jim at Endless Cycle has put his bike in the trainer, which has me thinking about winter workouts. What do you like to do when you're sequestered indoors and want to ride? Videos? Book of indoor workouts? Spin class? Do tell.

We Will Always Have Morzine

Dear Messrs. Brunet and McLaren,

Congratulations! You have accomplished the unthinkable. As attorneys and judges sworn to an oath of truth and ethics, you have dismissed thousands of pages of evidence documenting carelessness, error, and incompetence on the part of a so-called top level laboratory, declared a man guilty of cheating simply because you think he should be, and have convinced much of an ignorant and guillible public to accept your methods as a legal process. You have in effect called the sky green and the grass blue, and many citizens around the world are content to believe you. I admire the audacity it takes to pull off such a feat.

While you are hi-fiving each other, the bonus checks are being written, and those promotions discussed in China are being processed, may I respectfully point out one tiny detail? You have utterly failed in your attempt to diminish the achievements and character of Floyd Landis in the minds of those who are paying attention. Your actions may eradicate his name from record books as the official winner of the 2006 Tour de France. They may allow the winner's prize check to be given to Oscar Periero for a victory he has not earned. (His performance stands as evidence of that fact, but I understand now that we are not using evidence as a basis for decision-making). You may prevent Mr. Landis from road racing, and thereby earning an income, until January 2009. You cannot, however, erase the collective memory of July 20, 2006, and the awe-inspiring events that took place that day.

Should you have the power to recall all of the film footage documenting Stage 17, neither you nor the LNDD can photoshop Mr. Landis' Ride of a Lifetime from it, and paste Oscar Periero's weak spin in its place. You cannot negate the courage Mr. Landis displayed, after the bitter failure of Stage 16, in getting up the next morning and not only contemplating what people called impossible, but doing it. Gathering the abilities of his teammates, the strategy of his coaches, and a zillion bottles of water, and taking a risk that many believed ludicrous. And succeeding. You cannot obliterate the inspiration he gave us for our own riding abilities, for patients contemplating hip replacement, for anyone who has a dream and is willing to work hard to succeed. In the attempt to defend himself, you may have allowed the press to destroy his reputation, but those of us who followed his case after the accusation of a positive test, and read the transcripts of the hearing, know that his character is as strong in adversity as it was during the Tour. You can call the truth a lie, and a lie the truth, but you cannot re-write history.

We will always have Morzine.

What a Difference a Bike Makes

Thank you so much for your comments and suggestions for head lights and tail lights. We decided to purchase the Cateye models we saw in the local bike shop, and though we haven't tried them in utter darkness yet, the beam from the head light looks promising.

Last year at this time, I rode in my first ever charity ride, Folks on Spokes. Before this event, I was a leisurely rider [20-30 miles at most on a hybrid bike], but after being inspired watching my first Tour de France, I picked the longest distance option, 40 miles, and was determined to go for it. (click photos to enlarge).

Start of the ride (all photos by Mr. Suitcase unless noted otherwise)

After the first rest stop. I'm still smiling!

Riding up monster hill #1, which curves as it inclines

The first part of monster hill #2, which is worse than #1.

Rest stop #3. Mr. Suitcase slums for my benefit, with street clothes and a mountain bike. Don't we look cool?!

At the finish. My feet went numb from poor shoes, and I was deliriously hungry, but I did it!!

I finished in a little over 5 hours, completely missing lunch (the volunteers had it nearly all cleared away), just in time to see the band at the pavilion pack up. Once the disappointment of that wore off, I was able to savor reaching a goal that was probably not realistic by any means for the bike I had and the infrequent riding I'd done. The experience convinced me that it was time for a new road bike, and the search for Grace was on.

Fast-forward to this year, where spring rides started at 40 miles, and I completed a 70-mile ride on Memorial Day. Though I lost a lot of training time during our house move, Mr. Suitcase and I wanted to do Folks on Spokes again, to see our old friends, and also compare this year to last year. This past Sunday, my time was cut almost in half, and I made it back in plenty of time for the lunch. I even fixed my own flat tire, with a little help.

Near the start of the ride. I'm wearing my black jacket over the yellow one. It was really cold this year! (Note benches on the beach to the right -- the banner for this blog was photographed here last January).

Why I ride -- the ocean views

More inspiration

Top of Monster Hill #1.

Monster Hill #2 -- still hard, but I got up much faster.

Grace and I are happy to be finished, and we're not the Lantern Rouge either!! YAY!!

New year, new bike, new clothes...and we still don't look cool. Oh well. Photo by our friend Kris.

Proof we made it back in time for lunch this year.

Now I'm staring down my first century ride this coming Saturday, the TriState Seacoast Century. (Advice, encouragement, and thoughts and prayers for safety are most appreciated). Part of me thinks that I'm out of my mind to attempt this, given the lack of miles I've put in. The other part of me thinks that you never know what you can do until you try, and I certainly never thought I was capable of the 40-mile ride last year. Here's hoping I can finish the 100 miles in one day, even if it means I do miss lunch. And dinner. Good thing McDonald's is open late, and we've got that new headlight...

Lights -- Not Cool, but Necessary

I get the feeling that some serious cyclists think that headlights and tail lights are Not Cool. However, having the bumper of an SUV up your back tire because the driver cannot see you riding towards home in the dark is Infinitely Not Cooler. The hospital gown and time spent recuperating from a resulting bike accident are Beyond The Pale.

If you are trying to get in short rides in the early morning before work, or early evening after you get home from work (or maybe you commute) at this point in the season, chances are part of that ride is going to be in semi-darkness. We've gotten caught a few times in the dark, particularly on our own street where there are no streetlights and a nasty railroad track to navigate. I've been nagging Mr. Suitcase to investigate bike lighting, even if he only wants to put it on my girl bike. Girls are much more sensible that way, right?!

Trouble is, I can't find any good information on bike lights. Cycling Plus (a UK magazine) had a feature on different headlights last year, including photos demonstrating the strength of beam of each, but some of the lights aren't available here in the US. Bicycling magazine also featured some lights in an article last October, but neither one really explained the basics: what are the main things to look for? What are the different categories of lighting, and what are good selections for each price range?

We stopped in a local bike shop last weekened, and here is what I've been able to discern so far: Under $100 LED lights are generally powered by AA batteries. The price tends to determine their strength of beam and battery power. Some only allow you to be seen by cars, others will help you to see the road ahead. These lights tend to be easy to install (and have easy removal for those who feel they are uncool and don't want to be caught with them on the bike during daytime). The over $100 lights can be Halogen, are more complicated to install, and have a battery thing that sits in the water bottle cage. I *think* these are more useful to MTBers who spend hours in a race or ride in the dark, as opposed to those of us just caught unprepared by how fast the sun is going down lately (sob).

From what I saw in my LBS, I think we're going to go with the CatEye HL-EL530. It seems to be the brightest that Cateye makes. We'll get a corresponding tail light too. But please let me know what you're using, if you like it, and also if you can recommend any magazine articles or online reviews that would help!

Rhode Island Rides -- Mystic CT to Westerly, RI

The weekend before Labor Day, Mr. Suitcase and I went on another 30 mile ride, this time starting at Mystic, CT (home of the infamous Seaport), and finishing at Westerly, RI, in the area of Watch Hill.

 
A view from the CT side of the inlet

Watch Hill, RI (photos by Chris)

Watch Hill is another of my favorite summer places to visit, and I was especially pleased to be able to ride up the steep hill out of town! It's a quaint spot, with little shops, a restaurant, and a historic carousel.

So are you watching the Vuelta a Espana on Cycling.TV? We signed up for the premium channel so we can see the live coverage of the race (you can get the highlights for free, but the bandwidth is really slow). I still have Tour withdrawl!

A big congratulations to David Zabriskie and Levi Leipheimer on their wins in South Carolina!! And also to Floyd Landis, for his third place at Stokesville. It is so good to see him on a bike again.

Rhode Island Rides -- Tiverton to Little Compton

The Tiverton-Little Compton route is one of my absolute must-rides, or else it is not really summer. Sometimes, in the winter, I ache for it so much that we do the route in my car, just to get a taste until it's warm enough to get back on the bike.

Our typical route is found in Short Bike Rides in Rhode Island. There is a 17? mile loop with a 23 mile option. This year our friend Sarah introduced us to a longer, more inland route (on the way back), approximately 32 miles. She and her husband have a route map for a 50-miler that they did with the NBW, but we didn't have time to do it this day since Mr. Suitcase had raced that morning at the Ninigret Wildlife Preserve (also in RI). Photos of our ride by Chris.

Debby and Sarah head for the water.

A view from the lane.

Green fields, blue waves, and white clouds...

and boats...

and rocks...

There are no words to describe the beauty that is here.

Rhode Island Rides -- Portsmouth to Newport

Just before we moved, Mr. Suitcase and I went on a beautiful ride in Newport with our friends Sarah and Jeff, but I haven't had a chance to post about it until now. The ride was about 26 miles, with so many different scenes that took my breath away. Here are some of the photos Mr. Suitcase (Chris) took during the ride.

A windmill (Sarah, what is the name of the park?)

Chris and I (photo courtesy of Sarah)

A gorgeous Rhode Island beach

St. George's school

Newport! Tall Ships, and a sweet dog diving in the waves for his ball...

...and retrieving it.

Jeff, Sarah, Chris, and Debby (taken by a passerby).

Why RI is my favorite place to ride (but I'd like to try the Pacific Coast Highway and Tuscany, just for comparison purposes!).

One more view from along Ocean Drive. Heaven.

It was that most perfect of rides, sunny with a slight breeze near the ocean, and a minimum amount of hills. The kind of day you want to last forever, if your legs could too. Luckily for us, we went back last Saturday, to another favorite part of Rhode Island...

On the Saddle Again!

I'm sorry for the long absence. Moving & setting up house really eats into riding time!!

Here is a photo taken by Chris, on our first evening bike ride in our new town:

In true lazy summer spirit, I've been out an hour at a time here and there, but haven't kept track of any heart rates or miles or speeds...just looking at the pretty views and being thankful that almost all the boxes are gone now!!But I do need to find more discipline, as the Tri-State Seacoast Century is coming up soon. This article from Bicycling magazine should help.

Race season is beginning to wind down; the Tour de France is over and also some of the important pro races not covered in mainstream sports news. If you missed it like I did, here is re-cap of the Tour de 'Toona (PA) with congratulations due to Kristen Armstrong of TEAm Lipton! Tina Pic of Colavita-Sutter Home won the Presbyterian Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, North Carolina this past weekend (formerly known as the Bank of America Criterium). You can read the story at VeloNews.com.

There is one major road race left to look forward to, the Vuelta A Espana. Not as well known as the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, it starts on Sept. 1 this year and finishes on Sept. 23. The homepage has a tiny UK flag for English translation (I hope the link I attached is in English for you already!). I am not sure where the best race coverage can be found. Cycling TV offers a fee-based coverage of all the stages, but it looks like the Versus channel only has a summary on Sept. 30 from 6-7pm. If anyone has more information, please post it in the comments. Happy Riding!