East Coast Un-Tour: Thursday, May 17, 2018

We had a great time with our friends in Quebec. While there we did an enormous amount of walking but zero cycling. We walked all over the old city each day, and one day we drove out to a Canadian National Park for a more rustic hike. Note some of the snow we hiked through in the photo below.

From there we moved on by ourselves to Bar Harbor, Maine and the adjoining Acadia National Park. The park has scenic roads and carriage-ways and we fully expected to pull the tandem out of the van to enjoy the scenery from the bike. It was not to be, though. The weather was very variable and generally cold and windy while we were there, so we just drove around the park instead.

After a couple of days, we were back on Highway US 1, slowly moving down the coast. We overnighted and walked around in Rockland (where the guys and I spent a couple of days last summer on our Maine bike trip). From there, we moved on to Portland, with roadside stops at Georgetown Pottery and at the LL Bean mother-ship.

In Portland, we lucked out and grabbed two nights at a wonderful AirBnB, with fantastic ocean views from our windows, and easy access to South Portland's Greenway Path and the waterside recreation trails across the Casco Bay Bridge in Portland proper. We FINALLY justified carrying the tandem with us all the way to Maine, spending about two and a half hours riding the trails mentioned above. A good bit of that time was spent on portions of US Bike Route 1.

Truth be told, with the exception of the waterside sections, these trails were adequate, but don't match the West Orange Trail back home. If it had been warmer and sunny, we would probably have enjoyed them more. In addition, the off-trail traffic and the busy Casco Bay Bridge were cause for concern. There were a couple of intersections that were so intimidating that we decided to get off and just walk the bike through the pedestrian cross-walks. All that aside, we were delighted to finally be able to get on the bike!

East Coast Un-Tour: Monday, May 7, 2018

At present, I have no formal bike tour plan this year, but Kathy and I are finishing our third day of a three week East Coast road trip in a rented mini-van with our tandem in the back. We expect to be doing little rides here and there as opportunities present themselves, so I am going to journal the trip here on my cycling blog, even when we have not actually been on the bike.

We have plans with several of my college friends and their wives in Quebec City from Wednesday through Sunday, so we pushed to get up to New York State in short order. After we leave Quebec, our plan is to head to Bar Harbor Maine, ride a bit in Acadia National Park, then slowly make our way down much of the East Coast, as far as Georgia, driving primarily along Adventure Cycling Association's Atlantic Coast Route. Kathy and I will be taking our time, especially in Maine, which I found to be charming when I visited on the bike last summer. (I still hope to complete my blog entries for that trip some day!) 

These first two days were all-day, high mileage ordeals mostly on the interstate. We made it to Philadelphia last night in time to have a late dinner with one of Kathy's nephews and his wife. It was kind of a trip in a time machine, back to when Kathy and I were finishing up our own educations and trying to figure out the direction of our "grown-up" lives. Wow! Anyway, getting to Philly was almost 11 hours in the car, with just a few short breaks. The traffic around DC and Baltimore crawled along, even on the alternate route suggested by Waze - even on Sunday. This morning after a couple of hours, the cars and trucks finally thinned out as we headed north toward NY's Finger Lakes area, which is where we are now. We finally got off the interstate and drove instead on Pennsylvania's bike route "J" and at one point pulled over for a riverside lunch stop. The bike route featured many short, steep hills and would have been a challenge on two wheels. Our van kept downshifting to power up many of them.

Lunch beside the Susquehanna River.

We are overnighting just north of Watkins Glen, overlooking Seneca Lake (the largest of NY's Finger Lakes). Not only is this NY's wine region, but it is also loaded with craft breweries. We had dinner at Rooster Fish Brew Pub, sampling two of their own beers. I found their nut brown ale to be just OK but Kathy really enjoyed their cocoa porter. The most notable thing about the meal was that we sampled a Beyond Burger, which is a vegan burger that claims to be "the revolutionary plant-based burger that looks, cooks, and satisfies like beef". Now, it is true that I have not eaten an actual beef hamburger in a very, very long time - 20 years or more - but the Beyond Burger looked and tasted just like what I remember. Rooster Fish grilled it and topped it with a slice of tomato and lettuce and onion. It was seriously good. I would definitely order it again.

Tonight we are staying at a pretty basic, but clean, Lakeside Resort, located on a beautiful property overlooking the lake. It is on the west shore of Seneca Lake, a couple of miles uphill from Watkins Glen. You can actually take a number of short hikes right on their property here.

Kathy standing by the hotel's fire pit looking down at Seneca Lake at the foot of the property.

Flex Tour in Maine: Day 3, 20 June 2017 - Waldoboro to Rockport

Last night after my call home to check in with Kathy, I shared with Steve an event she related. It appears that she lost power in the wee hours due to a raccoon that had gone up our power pole and incinerated itself on the transformer, causing the outage. He responded dryly, "Too bad you guys are vegetarian." Indeed.

R.I.P., you wild and crazy guy.

There was some rain and wind in the morning, but it was over by ride-time and it turned out to be a pretty sunny day. We had breakfast at Moody's Diner, of course.

Like the previous two days, the course was pretty much non-stop up and down. When we got to the attractive town of Rockland (not to be confused with RockPORT, about five miles up the road) we were all hungry, so we cruised down and back along the main commercial street, settling on what might be best described as a food truck, without the truck, but with a handful of outdoor tables.

Our plan was to spend two nights in the Rockport area. We had reserved rooms at the Ledges on the Bay hotel but it turned out to be midway between the commercial areas of Rockland and Rockport, about two and a half miles of climbing from each, and definitely not a convenient walk to restaurants, stores, and pubs. Mitch easily convinced us that it would be much better if we stayed at the very nice Rockland Harbor Hotel at the edge of the commercial district of Rockland. Over the phone he negotiated an acceptable cancellation charge at Ledges, but we decided to ride up there to check it out before making a final decision. The view was great, but it would be very inconvenient to stay so far from town. In the end, Shannon at the Ledges told us that her manager had agreed to waive the cancellation charge because we were on bikes. How nice! If we are ever up there while traveling in a motorized vehicle, we will definitely be staying at Ledges by the Bay for the view and the staff, if nothing else.

Steve, Fred, and Seth at Ledges by the Bay in Rockport

We coasted back down the hill into Rockland, checked into the modern, clean, and comfortable Rockland Harbor Hotel, got cleaned up, and headed out to find dinner. We had a pretty good meal in Rockland on the outdoor deck of The Landings Restaurant & Lounge, entertained by seven elderly women practicing their steel drum numbers on the pier next door. (That situation has a very interesting back story.) After dinner we roamed around that part of town and discovered a little park featuring a display of old shipping lane buoys. Nobody paid much attention when Steve wandered off, that is until there was a sudden, deafening clang of the bell on the buoy we were standing beside. Looking up we saw Steve on the other side of the bell holding a sizable rock and grinning broadly. A few minutes later we realized that the buoy park was adjacent to Rockland's police station. Luckily nobody came out to take Steve into custody. I suspect it is a regular event for those working in the station. Our final stop before heading back to the hotel was the Rockland Harbor Brewing Company, which had a good selection of their own brews on tap.

Flex Tour in Maine: Day 2, 19 June 2017 - Brunswick to Waldoboro

Under somewhat overcast skies, we headed to breakfast at the Brunswick Diner, a very short walk from our hotel. Mitch was excited about breakfast possibilities featuring lobster and he was not disappointed with his selection of a lobster omelette. 

This business is located between the hotel and the diner. "Seniors on the Go" seems somehow appropriate for our group, even if Mitch doesn't quite qualify just yet.

An hour or after breakfast, we were back on the road and soon hit the first (and by comparison to what came later) the easiest climb of the day -- the bridge over the Androscoggin River.

Steve and Seth. Photo by Fred.

Pretty soon, the sky cleared, it warmed up, and we were treated to some pretty fine Maine eye candy.

In fact, it warmed up enough that these guys, delivering many tons of ice to convenience stores each day, figured that it wasn't such a bad job after all.

Mitch, fine tuning his skills at group selfie photography.

Lunch was water-side at Schooner Landing in Damariscotta. Over the many years I have dined with Steve, he has been the last one served more than his fair share. On this occasion, he was left nursing his beer while the rest of us finished our meals before his own finally appeared. Our waitress was sweet, but spectacularly incompetent. Perhaps it was her first day of a summer job with zero training? Anyway, when the checks arrived, Steve complained that there was no compensation for having to wait so long for his food. She offered that he didn't have to leave her a tip. Steve was having none of it, and sent her to talk to her supervisor. Eventually she returned with an amended check, but never took his credit card or asked for payment for his meal. Finally, we simply got up and left, with Steve feeling a little better about his meal that ended up being on the house.

Mitch chatting up a couple of our neighbors at Schooner Landing.

Between Damariscotta and Moody's Diner and Motel in Waldoboro, we climbed approximately 357 gazillion hills ranging from 10 to 15% (or maybe more). Somewhere along the way, I even got off and pushed my bike up the steepest section of one of them. When we finally got to Moody's, it was a cruel joke to discover that while the diner was at street level, the motel (which is actually a cluster of cabins) was at the top of a hill that was a match for anything we had just climbed!

Once we had reached the summit, we were checked in by the elderly, but perky and talkative, daughter of the original Moody who opened the establishment exactly 90 years previously. I believe that literally everyone living in the great State of Maine has visited Moody's Diner at least once in their lives. The 90th anniversary meant at least one important thing for some in our group: Moody's famous pies were on sale for 90 cents a slice instead of the normal $5 to $6! Food at the diner was a challenge for me. Eventually I settled on eggplant parmesan with spaghetti but without the parm. I couldn't finish it all. The other guys seemed satisfied with their choices. Steve and Mitch were very pleased with their peanut butter pie, especially at the anniversary price.

One little tech note. I use a Google Nexus 5X cellphone with Google's Project Fi service that automatically picks the strongest cell provider among T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular here in the States. Today I noticed that I was connected to US Cellular for the first time. Project Fi also provides service, including high-speed data, almost everywhere in the world for the same data rates it charges here in the US ($10/GB, charged precisely based on actual usage), with no need to swap SIM cards. My wife and I spend a good deal of time in Europe each year, so that is a killer feature for us. The catch is that you must use one of a very few phones to get these features. Highly recommended for Android users who generally don't use very much data.

The cabin at Moody's that Steve and I shared. Basic, but clean.

Flex Tour in Maine: Day 1, 18 June 2017 - Standish to Brunswick

Last night David basically told us to ignore the weather forecasts, as the Maine weather rarely does what the meteorologists predict, and he was right. In spite of predictions for a good chance of rain, there was no rain, and initial cloudiness turned to sunshine by the time we reached Portland. 

We got a bit of a late start because of some minor bike issues. Finally on the road, we made a left instead of a right, or maybe vice-versa, so we added a couple of miles to today's ride before actually getting on route. Along the way, Fred decided that he likes his rental bike, including the fact that it has airless, flat-proof tires. By the time we got to town, he had decided to keep it for the week, so we made a slight modification to the route to stop by Gorham Bike & Ski to change the rental period to the full week. While at this very nice shop, Steve had an adjustment made to his rear derailleur and bought an attractive hi-viz jacket. Mitch was fascinated by some kind of attachment that converts your bike to a cargo-bike, and I stayed outside keeping an eye on the bikes and sending out some status messages on my phone.

From the shop, it was just a few blocks to the waterfront, where we settled into an outside table at Dry Dock Restaurant and Tavern.

From left to right: Steve, Mitch, and Fred



The route out of Portland was on several miles of waterfront recreation trail, with lots of pretty views and a trail-side, narrow-gauge train carrying tourists.












Fred and Seth


From that point on, it was pretty much up and down until we arrived at our hotel, The Travelers Inn in Brunswick. It is an old property, but it has been nicely remodeled and was both clean and comfortable. Right next door we found an excellent Thai restaurant called Sweet Angel, which we all enjoyed.

Flex Tour in Maine: Day 0, 17 June 2017 - Standish

It has been two years since my last real tour, the most recent one being my wet, cold, hilly, and windy pedal from the north of Scotland to Carlisle in the north of England. This time we (touring buddy Fred, Florida buds Steve and Mitch, and I) packed up our stuff and headed for the cool forests of coastal Maine in the U.S. The plan was a seven day out and back from Standish (near Portland) to the Rockland-Rockport-Camden (RRC) area. In accordance with my recent conversion to the lower daily mileage camp of bicycle touring, the goal was to do 40 miles or so for each of the first three and last three days, and a day of casual exploration of RRC in the middle. We expected to be riding somewhere between 270 and 300 miles all told. Everyone agreed to the theme of the trip, which was to remain flexible and to take things as they come – a “flex tour”.

For Steve, the Maine ride was to be just one part of a longer road trip with his life-partner, Debi, and their latest RV. While we were doing this little bike tour, the RV would be parked at our starting point and Debi would be visiting with a family member in Massachusetts.  Fred flew in from Colorado the day before the first ride, as did Mitch and I from Florida.

A little background. A few months ago, at a birthday party for a mutual friend, I had the extreme pleasure of being seated next to a most delightful woman named Elaine. We soon got to talking and she shared that she and her husband David winter in Florida, but in the summer live in Maine on many wooded acres near Standish. “What a coincidence!” I exclaimed. “Some friends and I will be bicycling in Maine this June, starting in Portland!” Before I knew it, Elaine had not only invited us to start and end our trip at their place, but also had insisted on picking us up at the Portland airport and housing and feeding us as well.

A month or so later, Steve met another Maine couple, Elly and Charlie, at the Florida Bicycle Safari, and within minutes they too offered to put us up and feed us in South Harpswell if we were nearby. A few weeks prior to starting our trip, we all agreed to do just that if they were still willing, which they were. That diversion added some miles to our proposed route, but we weren’t about to forego their invitation. We were confident that it would all work out somehow.

Returning to the Portland airport, Elaine was there waiting for us when Mitch and I arrived, and in minutes her husband David drove up to the door of baggage claim, loaded us, our bags, and our bikes into their SUV and we were on our way. After a tasty lunch in town, we headed toward Standish, hoping to find that Fedex had delivered Fred’s bike to their home. As luck would have it, the delivery was not made because none of us had considered that Fedex would not leave the bike without someone there to sign for it. All that was left was a notice that they would try again on MONDAY – a day after we expected to ride out! A frenzied phone call to the Fedex office confirmed that there really was nothing we could do. I reached Fred while he was between planes in Atlanta and he said he would be willing to rent a bike if we could locate a suitable one prior to the ride start.

Simultaneously, Steve was driving his RV around the vicinity, trying to find Elaine and David’s “camp” location where we were going to be staying. He called Elaine’s mobile to ask for some additional directions, but just as they were being given, Mitch and I noticed his RV pulled off the road as we whizzed by. David spun the SUV around, gathered up Steve and the RV in his wake, and we all headed to the camp.

After dropping Mitch and me to assemble our bikes, David and Steve went off to check out some possibilities for Fred, and ended up with a small Cannondale road bike owned by their daughter-in-law, along with a nice hybrid, including a rack, rented from a bike shop in Portland. Feeling proud of their accomplishments, they stopped in a nice pub near the airport to celebrate, then picked up Fred at the airport and returned to the camp.

Now, let me stop for a minute to review the facts. Having never laid eyes on, nor spoken a word to, any one of us prior to that morning, this kind and generous man spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the Portland area picking up, dropping off, and equipping our sorry crew. Finally home a bit before dinner time, he immediately joined Elaine to provide us with a wonderful dinner and delightful company until everyone was too full and tired to continue. Really, REALLY, incredible pair. “Oh, no. That’s just the way we are in Maine,” said Elaine. Wow! In that case, there are quite a few world leaders I would like to relocate to Maine.

David, still smiling!

Oh, yes, and after dinner David took us all out for a pontoon boat cruise on Lake Watchic.

His & Hers Folding Bikes

A few years back we converted from a timing chain to a Gates belt drive on our tandem. For those who don't know tandems, the rider in the rear generally is pedaling a traditional drivetrain with chainrings, chain, derailleur and rear cassette on the right, but also rotates another chainring on the left side of the bottom bracket that is connected by another chain to a matching chainring turned by the front rider's crankset. The Gates belt conversion replaces that front-back linkage with a carbon belt and two matching rings. Here is how it looks:

This belt drive is great! It is light, quiet, clean, and maintenance-free. The only improvement would be if we could somehow do a similar conversion for the other chain, but that would involve modification of the bike's frame, and replacing the rear wheel hub with an internal gear hub (IGH). The best of those hubs (Rolhoff) are very expensive. In addition, IGH is typically heavy and roughly 10% less efficient that a regular chain drive. Still, it probably would work well on a bike meant for lower speed use, like commuting, casual trail riding, or perhaps even touring. I tucked that idea away in my mind.

A year ago, or maybe it is two, my wife Kathy took her second recent fall while riding her road bike. A few years earlier she tore some shoulder ligaments; the last time she broke her wrist. Back when we were in grad school, she rode her 10 speed everywhere, but since we returned to cycling about 18 years ago, she has not managed to regain her old confidence. These two accidents made matters far worse. She thought maybe she would be more comfortable in a more upright position, perhaps with flat bars. I dutifully converted her road bike to something of a hybrid with flat bars, flat pedals without clips, and a twist shifter (not such an easy project, by the way) but she was still very anxious when riding. It wasn't enough of a change. She thought that MAYBE fatter tires, a lower top bar and a lower seating position might work, so that idea also got tucked away in the back of my mind.

One of the things we would like to do over the next few years is to do long road trips in the US. I have long wanted to share some of the places I experienced on my bike tours in the west (Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho), and there are plenty of compelling areas of the country that neither of us has visited. It would be terrific if we were able to bike in many of those places, too. Kathy has no interest in multi-week bike tours like the ones I have done, but if we could somehow bring the tandem along with us... OK, that idea went into the brain warehouse with the others. 

Over the summer I stumbled across, or maybe deliberately started googling, foldable bikes with belt drives. Most all folders have wider tires and low top tubes that would appeal to Kathy and, it turns out, some even have belt drives coupled to wide-range internal gear hubs. I was shocked to find that some of these bikes are very reasonably priced. In August I found Downtube Bikes (http://downtube.com/) which has just such bikes for $699 each. These bikes take about 30 seconds to fold and unfold. Really. Watch the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRfK_q3pp90

That URL was saved away for future consideration.

While we were in the UK (primarily Edinbugh, plus a few days in London and Bath) for a non-bike vacation in October, I was impressed by the number of folding bikes zipping around. We were getting around on foot and public transportation, and I found that bikes with wheels up to 20" were accepted on trains and buses. Huh! A pair of folders would be more portable than the tandem and give us some options for bike travel on our future trips.

By now, you know where all this is going. Here are our new bikes:

We started with just one because I wanted to be sure that Kathy would be comfortable. At this point she has only 5 hours or so on it, but is already much more comfortable that she ever was on her road bike. I myself love it. I had to make peace with the idea that I was going to be travelling significantly slower than on a full-sized, chain-drive bike, but once over that hurdle, it has been great fun. 

A couple of things I would share: 

1. These particular bikes from Downtube when new have an issue with the plastic dust seal between the rear sprocket and the hub. The bike's 22 tooth sprocket rubs against the dust cover leaving you with the first impression that there is something seriously wrong with the bike. I remembered reading something on the Downtube web site about it, though, and the suggested fix worked fine. All you have to do is to back-pedal for a few minutes to wear away the lip of the hub's dust seal and you are good to go. Coasting and freewheeling down a few hills finishes the job.  
2. Belt tension is important, and the belt was overly tight on both our bikes. Gates has phone apps available for both Android and IOS to check belt tension.
3. The Shimano IGH units, including the Nexus 8-speed hub on this bike, loosen up for improved shifting and easier pedaling over time. We have noticed the improvement in the short time we have had the bikes, and apparently it will continue to improve over the first 1,000 mile or so.

National Bike Travel Weekend: Fanning Springs - Cedar Key Loop

Between 2008 and 2015 early June generally found me on a long distance bike trip somewhere. Last year's trip to the UK did not exactly go as planned, and neither my touring buddy Fred nor I were motivated to put something together for this year. Still, I have recently felt a need to do some kind of trip, even if just a night or two. A previous plan to do a little tour with Mitch earlier this spring fell apart, mostly on my account, but then I noticed that Adventure Cycling Association had declared June 3 - 5 to be National Bike Travel Weekend. It is the latest of ACA's continuing effort to make bike travel more approachable to more people, legitimizing "bike overnights" and trips of just a couple of nights.

In the absence of a "big" trip, I latched onto the idea and recruited two friends, Roger and Steve, to join me for a very casual, easy overnight trip in northwest Florida. The starting point I selected was Fanning Springs, a tiny town west of Gainesville. From there the route took us south to Cedar Key, a popular spot for fisherman that also has a bit of artsy, Key West feel to it. The town has long hosted an art festival in the Spring that my wife Kathy and I think we might have attended decades back when we were in school in Gainesville. Anyway, it seemed like as good a destination as any so I created an 80 mile loop that started in Fanning Springs with a night in Cedar Key. 

We left at about 6:30 on Saturday morning, driving the the two hours from my house up to our starting point. Somehow or another, it still took us another hour after arriving in Fanning Springs to start riding. Much of the outgoing route paralleled the famous Suwannee River. About 15 miles into the ride we stopped for a little riverside rest in some shade.




Back on the bikes we found ourselves on a sandy, unpaved road for what seemed like a couple of miles. I was riding my touring bike with the 35mm tires I had mounted for last year's UK trip, so the road surface was a non-issue for me. Steve and Roger, however, were both on 23mm road tires, so we rode slowly and carefully in case of a deep patch of sand that could cause a fall. Eventually we made it back to pavement and we returned to the comfortable 14 to 16 mph pace that we had been riding previously. 

The route was exceedingly flat and there was not much wind, so the pedalling was easy. That is, it was easy for Roger and for me, but not so much for Steve, who, in spite of being the strongest rider in the group, was working hard to keep up. Finally Roger noticed that Steve's rear wheel was WAY out of true -- a pretty sure sign of a broken spoke. It took only a minute to confirm that it was a spoke nipple rather than the spoke itself, but the effect was the same. Every rotation of the wheel rubbed the rim against the brake pad on the bulging side of the rim, so Steve had been quite literally riding for about an hour with his rear brake on. The good news was that a broken spoke nipple is much easier to repair on the side of the road than a broken spoke would have been. Steve quickly fixed the wheel and we were back on our way. 

It was now about noon and it had become very hot under an intense sun with little shade. I drank the last of my water and was starting to feel light-headed, so I requested a stop at the first place that might possibly have a cold sport drink of some kind. About 10 miles from our destination we found a tiny "grocery store" where I drained a quart of Gator Aid and Steve poured a can of Pepsi caffeine and sugar down his throat. He announced that he felt more like he had just ridden a century rather than 30 flat miles. Our final 10 miles were hot but went by without further excitement.

Roger had taken on the responsibility of finding us lodging a couple of weeks earlier and had reserved a two bedroom condo for the night. Lots of places in Cedar Key won't even rent for a single weekend night, but luckily this one did. With the exception of being able to hear way too much noise from the neighbors, it was a very comfortable and roomy place to spend the afternoon and evening. 

Relaxing on the terrace after getting cleaned up.

View from the terrace.

About 3 in the afternoon we headed out to find something to eat. We ended up at a restaurant called Steamers. There was a pretty extensive menu, but all three of us ordered blackened Mahi sandwiches that were tasty and filling, accompanied by two beers each. We returned to the condo for some horizontal time, though Steve, a master sleeper, was the only one who actually slept.

Steve recuperating from his unexpectedly hard ride.

At dinnertime nobody was hungry, so instead we each bought a pint container of ice cream at a nearby grocery and consumed it before turning in for the night.

We were back on the bikes by 8 AM or so on Sunday. It was a near perfect ride. The weather was a bit cloudy, which kept the heat down, there was little to no wind, no traffic, and the last 10 miles were under a canopy of oaks on the Nature Coast Trail. The only unusual event was when we encountered a wild boar crossing the road with a bunch of little boar-lets. Eight or nine little ones crossed the road ahead of mama boar. When she reached the other side she turned and stared right at us. We stopped our bikes and kept our distance, not quite knowing what to expect. A moment later another batch of little ones popped out of the bushes on the other side of the road! Once the second group of youngsters made it across, mama followed them into the brush and we felt safe to continue our ride.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable weekend. One note is that I decided to forego any official riding jerseys on this trip and wear hi-viz technical t-shirts instead. The looser fit made me more comfortable in the heat, I think, and I will probably do the same thing on future hot weather trips.

My JOGLE becomes My Tour of Scotland

The plan was to ride the length of Great Britain, starting in John O' Groats (JOG) at the top of Scotland, and arriving 16 days later in Lands End (LE), in the extreme south of England - a tour known as JOGLE.

Well, that's not how it worked out for me. Instead it was a six day, 398 mile (19,238 feet of climbing) ride through extreme weather conditions that left me exhausted, wet, cold, and discouraged at the end of each day. Even the two days that were less horrible were still too long (none less than eight hours) and too exhausting -- at least for me. By the time we crossed the border into England, I had decided that the moments of fun were not worth the days of suffering. I abandoned one other tour, our Geezer Geyser Tour through Colorado and Wyoming, but just one day early, and because of a foot injury that could not have tolerated another hundred miles of climbing. So, instead of the planned JOGLE route, I ended up riding this:

Below are some photos and commentary regarding my six days cycling the length of Scotland, north to south.

In the van, driving in the wind and rain from Inverness to John O'Groats (JOG). As we neared our destination, I noticed that all the sheep and cows were facing the same way, with their butts into the wind and driving rain.

The Ready Room at JOG.

Fred looking for more protective gear.

Within hours, all that was left of Ray's poncho was a strip of plastic he tied to his rear rack. The wind quickly ripped the poncho to shreds.

A brief dry, clear moment to grab a photo on day one.

Fred during a rest stop on day two. About 70 miles into the ride, we reached Inverness, just in time for rush hour. Simultaneously, the sky turned exceedingly ominous. Between the traffic and the rain I figured the best plan would be to take cover in town, and if necessary catch a ride after dinner to our destination in Tomatin, another 15 miles down the highway. Fred soon agreed, but Ray was determined to ride it out. He spent the next two hours battling a head wind, struggling up countless unexpected hills, and shivering, in the hardest rain we encountered during the trip. Meanwhile, back in Inverness, Fred and I enjoyed a great dinner and a couple of pints. We then got a van-taxi to take us, a take-out dinner for Ray, and the bikes, to our B and B. Ray arrived just before we did, as night was falling (which is about 10 PM in June in Scotland).


Day three. This coffee shop appeared like an oasis in a desert. We positioned ourselves near the coal fireplace and ordered every hot thing on the menu.

On the way out of town, I purchased another pair of gloves at a convenient outfitter store. The three pairs I already had with me were not enough once they were soaked through. Late in the day, we eventually reached Firs Guest House, our B and B in Blair Atholl, where the proprietress, Kirsty, appeared at the door in a flowing white dress, accompanied by a melodic voice and a magical smile. All three of us were instantly entranced, and stood there motionless with our mouths open for an embarrassing moment. To top it off, she collected all our sodden clothing, returning it to us clean and DRY (Say "Hallelujah!") the next morning. Blair Atholl is home to the picturesque Blair Castle and Gardens, but, as usual, we had no time to actually enjoy the local attractions. I would love to return some day, to both the town and the Guest House.

In the first three days, we rode over 212 miles, and climbed about 10,000 feet, much of it in wind and rain.



Day four was a "short" day, only 52 miles, but with a very nasty climb at about 40 miles. Our route finally took us off the pavement for a while, onto double track along a riverbank. We stopped briefly to enjoy the wildflowers and the river. A few hours later, there was even some clear sky. We took a short break to enjoy the intense yellow of a rapeseed field in the sun, before tackling the climb, where I just got off and pushed my bike rather than struggle. It was no slower than riding and a whole lot easier.

That night we stayed in a real hotel, with spacious rooms, good plumbing, and a decent, if not great, in-house restaurant. We were, of course, exhausted physically and emotionally as we sat down for dinner. There, among the white tablecloths, I made a comment that I shouldn't have. It touched a sore nerve with Fred, who pretty much lost it, yelling and cursing me out for what seemed like an eternity. My reaction to this incident was to withdraw and isolate myself from my compatriots, in spite of Fred's sincere and heartfelt apologies. The episode, and my reaction to it, played a role in my decision to abandon the tour a couple of days later.


By day five we had learned that blue skies were just short breaks between periods of clouds and rain. The wind was never favorable, and, like the clouds, was never gone for long. We were thrilled when we could maintain a pace of 10 mph. Coupled with long breaks in warm, dry pubs, the typical riding days of 65 miles meant at least 6 and a half hours turning the pedals, and at least nine hours from departure to destination. That explains my failure to blog along the way. Toward the end of day five we stopped to admire a vista that reminded Fred of the hobbit's Shire. It did have that kind of feel to it.

The sixth day, my last day of riding, was 60 miles of rain and wind from Abington, Scotland, to Carlisle, England. The only really interesting thing I recall was a little wedding, accompanied by a bagpiper, that we stumbled upon just before leaving Scotland.

The forecast for the next day was for the worst weather yet, with very high winds, rain, and a ton of climbing. Before I met the guys for dinner, I called Kathy to see if she could come over a week earlier than planned. She checked her airline and the change was possible, so I decided I was done with my bike tour. I explored Carlisle and relaxed for the next couple of days until Kathy arrived on Sunday evening. Monday we started a 13 day tour around England in a rental car (which is a whole 'nuther story!).

Even the Scots we encountered commented on the unseasonably crappy weather. If there had been less of that, I am sure that I would have enjoyed my time in Scotland greatly. Some time in the future I hope to return with Kathy, but we will get around using public transportation.


Lessons Learned:

• Get over the hydration pack. Even on relatively short, hilly rides, it significantly increases my lower back pain. During the last three days I strapped my Camelbak to my rear rack and my back felt much better as a result. Instead of drinking directly from the pack, I used it as a reservoir to refill my water bottle as needed.
   
• Willie Weir, a long-time bicycle tourist and contributor to Adventure Cycling Magazine frequently advises his readers to slow down, drop the daily mileage, and be flexible so you can explore your surroundings and talk to the people you encounter. He is certainly not the only one to offer this advice, and intellectually I have always agreed, but up to now whenever I planned a tour, I always ended up in the same old pattern of putting miles first. Hell, we even did away with rest days this time! I am going on record that future tours will set the daily target to about 40 miles, and never more than 50. And the tours should include places along the way, explicitly in the itinerary, to get off the bike, see the sights, and explore. I don't have the time or energy to "tour" if I spend 6 or 8 or 10 hours a day just getting from a pre-determined point A to a pre-determined point B. That problem will only get worse as I get older. Maybe the rule should be couched in terms of hours rather than miles. Let's say a max of four hours of riding time. In conditions like those we found in Scotland, that means just 40 miles.
   
• Stay flexible. The idea is to enjoy the tour. If you aren't enjoying it, then change it. Even in a point to point tour, you can always figure something out. There are trains, buses, kind people in pickup trucks, or fellow cyclists who will help you out if you are in need.
   
• Make sure that your traveling companions are ok with the above, or at least are ready and able to continue without you if you want to change the plan and they don't. I was fortunate to have such friends, or maybe they were delighted to get rid of me. My mood was getting fouler in proportion to my exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and failing physical state, so I don't blame them if they were happy to see me go.

The JOGLE trip is appoaching fast.

Fred, Ray, and I were finally able to focus on the route and overnight stops for our upcoming bike trip from the extreme north to the extreme south of Great Britain. I discovered a very helpful book by Royston Wood on Amazon that provided a more direct, yet still off-highway, route. I combined sections of Royston's route with the longer, scenic route I had previously been working up. This new hybrid route will shorten the trip by about 100 miles, one day, and about 7,000 feet of climbing. It also eliminates the handful of over-80 mile days. Given that my training this year has not gone entirely according to plan, I am delighted to have a more manageable way to go. Here is the overview of the new route:

The three of us will be meeting up on May 30 in Inverness, Scotland. Early the following morning, we have arranged to be transported up to John O'Groats with our bikes, where we will start the trip. This route is 963 miles, over 16 riding days, with 39,000 feet of climbing. The weather should be cool (40's up to low 70's) and will probably feature a good deal of rain. Pretty much the only sure thing is that it will NOT be hot! 

I am still hoping to get in a little meaningful training before leaving, but I have the remnants of a nasty cold and precious little time remains. This weekend I went over the bike, replaced the chain and made various minor adjustments. I also set aside the clothing I will be bringing, but the actual packing of bike and gear will be delayed until the convenient holiday on May 25th.

Lowest Annual Mileage Since 1999

Above is my typical ride lately -- generally a leisurely 15 to 20 miler near my house on the fixed gear. And if it were not for the "new" old bike I recently got from a friend, I might not be doing even THAT much. A new bike, or piece of equipment, always generates a bit of enthusiasm for getting out on the road again. Nevertheless, my rides have been primarily short ones because of time, weather, a tandem stoker who has been troubled by knee and hip issues this fall, and my talent for coming up with excuses.

Fred and I had a great tour lined up for 2014, but when our plans fell apart in the spring, so did my motivation to train and to do long rides. The result is that I will finish this year with about 1,600 total cycling miles. In the past 15 years, my average mileage has been more like 3,000 to 4,000, and even higher a time or two. The main factor is probably the absence of training and touring miles. That should not be the case in 2015, though. We already have a great tour picked out, and all three of us (Ray will be riding with us again) have bought non-refundable airline tickets to show our commitment.

One example of a JOGLE route.

The plan is to do the classic UK tour called End-to-End, or LEJOG, or JOGLE, as you prefer. It involves cycling from John O'Groats in the extreme north of mainland Scotland, to Lands End in the tippy-toe of southwest England (JOGLE) or the opposite way (LEJOG). There is no fixed route, really, but tons of people do it every year, so there is no lack of suggested routes. The fastest, safety-and-scenery-be-damned route is about 900 miles. We are going to follow a safer and more picturesque route, though, and will end up with 1,100 miles or so in 14 to 16 days.

Definitely NOT a Touring Bike (but still fun)

On a recent visit to my friends Larry and Meg in New Jersey, I noticed a bike behind some unpacked boxes during a tour of their beautiful home. Further inspection revealed the bike to be a Fuji Track, a fixed-gear model theoretically meant for use in a velodrome, but now used by most riders as an urban "fixie". The bike, vintage early 2000's, had belonged to Meg's late husband, Ron Stone, the sorely missed principal of Newark's Weequahic High School. Ron brought this inner city school back from the edge, a story documented in the film "Heart of Stone". I never had the pleasure of meeting Ron personally, but I am quite sure he would be pleased that Meg has found a new home for his bike with me.

Getting the bike down to Florida was a bit of a challenge. I had assumed that it would be easier and cheaper to have a local bike shop pack it and ship it, rather than packing it up myself and shlepping it with me on the plane.  Once back in Florida I make some calls and found a shop a few miles from Larry and Meg's house that would pack it up for a reasonable $50. Larry dropped the bike off and relayed the details a day or so later: the box weighed 37 pounds and measured 53 x 30 x 9. I entered those numbers on the UPS and Fedex sites and discovered that the box was 3 inches too big, putting it in an oversize category that made shipping much more expensive. I called the shop, but they insisted this is the only box size they have. In the end I went with Fedex "Home Delivery" (ground service), which ran about $118. UPS was considerably more -- like $150 or $160! If the shop had used a 3 inch shorter box, the shipping cost would have been about $50. By comparison, back in the day (pre-2006) Kathy and I shipped our tandem to and from upstate NY in a huge, BikePro Race Case for about $100 each way. The case with the bike in it weighed something like 90 pounds, as I recall. Times have changed, I guess.

ANYWAY... the bike appeared at my house three days later. Even if there were a velodrome next door, the chances of me riding on an actual track are nil, so my plan was to add a front brake and use it as a "fixie". Riding a fixed gear is reputed to be both fun and good training. The late, great Sheldon Brown has several pages dedicated to the topic and the virtues of fixed-gear bicycling.

Since the bike arrived, I have added a front brake (twice, actually, because after the first time I found some narrower handlebars I like better) and some chain tensioners to make it easier to get the rear wheel centered more precisely. On the second brake installation, I also mounted a brake lever on the other side of the handlebar for comfort and a more balanced look, even though the second lever isn't attached to a brake. I will be doing more pimping of my new ride as time goes on, I am sure.

My first ride was about 11 miles, starting at my house (meaning there are hills that cannot be avoided). I found that it is really not much of a problem to climb hills up to 7 or 8 percent with the current gearing (46 x 20), but more than that could be a bit much for my old knees. On the flats I easily hit 17 or 18 mph. The ride, however, was pretty harsh. I have already ordered some 25 mm tires (the widest that will fit in the fork) to replace the 23's that are on the bike currently. I'll run the 25's at lower pressure to give a more comfortable ride.