Halloween Night Ride

We took Daniel to his first Fall Fest at the church tonight.  He ran around as a little Incredible Hulk amongst what had to be hundreds of other kids.  Good times, he seemed to have fun amongst all the chaos.  Katie whipped together a sewn chef's hat just before leaving to complete her chef costume.

I went dressed as a cyclist, which Katie proclaimed to be unfair and boring. To complete the costume, unknown to people inside the church, I plugged the bike rack into the car and brought along my bike.  Katie and Daniel drove home while I pedaled home.

It was a nice Halloween night for a ride, with a nearly full moon overhead.  I stopped along the road around the block from home for a few pics.

 

Worms, Cottage & DST

It's time for a little catch up on the happenings since the beginning of this past weekend....

The big excitement of the weekend, and Monday, was a family trip to Dillon State Park.  We stayed in a small cottage for a couple nights and enjoyed the fall colors and weather.  Katie made a post with some nice pictures here.  It was a nice extended weekend.

Just prior to leaving for the State Park on Saturday, Ryan and I made it out for a nice ride around the block.  What was not nice was the aftermath of our ride.  It had rained the night before and the roads were a bit damp, no standing water that I remember, just damp.  Upon return home I was shocked to see the amount of worms, worm pieces, and worm guts our bikes were carrying.

On a ride in the spring we experienced a similar wormy situation but it was nowhere near this gross.  As Katie was packing up for our trip, I was in the basement trying to get the bulk of worm gunk cleaned up.  I was afraid of how bad the basement would smell if I left it go until we came back.

Post ride bike posing in the front yard.

Usually I use a damp rag to clean my road bike, but the rag was not working on the worminess, it was just smearing the slimy, bloody worm residue all over the place.  I ended up with the bike in the front yard, using a garden hose and a brush to clean up the mess.

Downtube worm chunk cling-ons.

Tonight was the last OCC night ride ride of the year that departed from the shop in daylight.  Sunset was at 6:28 today but with the expiration of daylight savings time, subsequent rides will depart in the dark.

It was another good ride tonight.  On the way out Ryan asked me if I had fun cleaning the worms off my bike after our Saturday ride.  It was not just me plagued by the worm cleanup project!

Chain Tattoo Pants

Last night was an excellent ride with a small group of OCC guys.  About 10 of us left the shop in the unseasonably warm weather.  Everyone was speculating it may be the last Wednesday night ride without jackets and heavy gloves.

Upon reaching Moreland Road, seven of us continued on for the full loop while the other guys opted for a shorter route.  As we slipped through the night behind our headlights, we encountered varying temperatures in the rolling hills around Fredericksburg.  I distinctly remember a couple low areas that felt refrigerated as we pedaled along.

Sitting at my desk today, I looked down and was amused to find a nice chain ring tattoo on the thigh of my jeans.  It must have happened when carrying my bike down to the basement.  Oh well, I kind of like it!  Maybe I should have a similar design embroidered into all my pants.

A Solo Fall Ride

This past week did not present many opportunities for a ride.  I didn't even find a good morning to commute by bike.  Friday I took a vacation day and headed down to Dayton to help at my brother's recently purchased house.  Dad and I worked on installing new kitchen cabinets Friday and Saturday.

Sometimes it's harder for me to get motivated for a ride after having not ridden in a week, especially when headed out solo.  I find the best approach is to get out bike, clothes, and gear without thinking about it too much and try to get to the end of the driveway before inventing a reason not to ride.  By the end of the street, I'm always excited to ride.

Thanks to the wind, I headed north through Overton Valley before climbing Smithville-Western to the west.  That's always a good climb and did a fine job of warming me up on a windy 54 degree day.  I rode over to New Pittsburg and through Reedsburg before heading home.

Stopped along the side of the road for a couple pictures.

The fall colors are starting to get serious, which made for a nice combination with the big clouds throughout the bright, blue sky.  I enjoyed the ride and hope to not go another week without getting on the bike.  The weather forecast is showing a warmup this week, 65 for the high on Thursday, with overnight lows in the mid 40s.  It's looking good for an OCC night ride on Wednesday night!

Looking west into Ashland County, near Reedsburg.

Road Ride to MTB Race in Loudonville

Yesterday was a good day on the bike.  Ryan and a handful of OCC/Soupcan Racing guys were doing an OMBC (Ohio Mountain Bike Championship) race at Mohican State Park, and I rode down to see the guys at the finish.  KT and Daniel also came down to see us at the finish and then go for a hike with Helena and her mom.  It was the third or fourth time I've ridden to Loudonville.  On previous rides I'd taken a west then south route but yesterday I decided to try a south then west route. 

Just into Holmes Co., looks like the perfect candidate for a haunted house.

I road out of Wayne County on South Elyria road and continued into Holmes County until the road dead ended.  Turning right, I ventured westward on some new roads.  You never know which roads are paved or gravel or dirt in Holmes County.  I brought a small pencil with me to make notes on my map about which roads were good.

A crowd assembled when I stopped for a "nature break" along the road.

The weather was perfect and I found some really scenic township roads.  With recon data of the route and crossroads wirtten on my map, I have a good idea for a winter cross bike route on some unpaved roads.  As I closed in on Wally Road, south of Loudonville, I made a wrong turn on some twisty township roads and ended up flying down a dirt/gravel road before realizing I would have to back track.  When I turned around and looked at where I had come from, I had to take a picture.  It looked like a farm access road.

Twice traveled.

A sunny, fall day.

After pedaling solo on lonely backroads for two hours I rolled into the campground where the mountain bike race finished.  I tried to hold a track stand at the entrance to the campground while two racers passed in front of me.  There was still a racer coming from my left but my track stand was at its limit.  I pedaled onto the campground road and looked back to see... Ryan!  He was riding on a flat rear tire as he crossed the finish line.

The Soupcan guys had fnished and the OCC guys were continuing to come in as I wandered about the finish area.  Katie and Daniel had arrived and we were all taking in the spectacle.  Daniel liked all the bikes but seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the activity.

As the racers continued to finish I made it around the finish area to hear the race stories from the OCC and Soupcan guys.  Flat tires, exploded pedals, podium finishes, and more.  I guess a good time was had by all, or at least most.

Light up the Night

Last night was my second Amish Night Ride with some fellow OCC riders.  Thanks to my new Cygolite Mitycross 350 light system, I have been able to join the small group of guys who defy early sunsets and continue to ride on Wednesday nights.

About 9 of us left the shop at 6:30 and headed south.  We rode nearly the same route as last week: down to Fredericksburg and back, about 35 miles.  Sunset was shortly after 7pm, prompting blinky tail lights and high output head lights to be turned on prior to reaching Fredericksburg.  The temperature was mid 50's when we started and dropped into the upper 40's once the sun went down.

Ryan pedaling toward sunset.

Riding as a group at night is a visual spectacle.  Beams of light move around the road up ahead, while varied blinking sequences of bike tail lights flash out the back.  All this makes for a unique display as a member of the rolling light show.  I'm sure it's equally unique for a car to come upon a pack of us riding the back roads at night.

Riding west towards Fredericksburg.

There's a sense of isolation as you pedal down a dark road.  Instead of being surrounded by the expanding countryside, your attention is constrained to the 40' of lighted road up ahead.  Even with a group of other riders there is solidarity in the night.  The darkness obscures the identity of the person riding at your side.  A turn of the head to check if it's okay to change position results in a good view of the bike light behind, but the rider behind that light remains cloaked in darkness.


Back at the shop we recovered from the high pace of the final miles and the sprint for the last road sign.  Bikes were returned to their car racks, trunks, and truck beds.  We gathered under the security lighting of the bike shop and made plans for next week's night ride.  "Let's ride 'till the snow stops us!"

The post-ride assembly.

Bike Lighting
Following is a link to an article I wrote for the Orrville Cycling & Fitness web site.  The article presents two Cygolite bike lighting systems, complete with on-the-road images of the lights at night.
http://www.orrvillebikeshop.com/articles/lights/let_there_be_light.htm

New Camera Working Well

Last week KT suprised me with a new digital camera for my birthday.  It's a Canon Digital Elph SD1200IS and is very compact, the perfect size to fit in a cycling jersey's pocket.

This morning I decided to commute to work and try for a sunrise picture.  It occurred to me that a slight alteration to my usual route would provide an elevated view to the east.  I rode across Valley Rd. to Batdorf Rd. and stopped at the top of the hill, overlooking the Prairie Lane area to the east.  After trying a couple settings on the new camera I captured the following fiery sunrise picture.

Satisfied with the sunrise pictures, I was about to get back on the back when I then turned around and saw a nearly full moon still high in the sky.

The 40 degree morning air was making my fingers cold, so the gloves went back on and I continued my ride to work.  I'm impressed with this little camera!  More pictures to come.

- AAron

DoG Tour - 85 miles of enjoyment

Today was the Day of Generosity Cycling Tour, an event to support the Grace Brethren International Missions and national missionaries.  Brian, Ryan and myself were along for the 80 mile route, which was actually 85 miles.

Under questionable skies we rode west to Ashland.  It was about 52 degrees when we left and the forecast didn't predict the temperature to make it out of the 50's.  We made a stop in Ashland, near Brian's place of work, for a coffee warmup and then headed north to Spencer.

Coffee break in Ashland.

The bikes took a rest during the coffee break too.

From Homerville north to Spencer we caught an excellent tailwind.  We shared some good pulls as we sped north with ease on SR301.  Brian made the prediction, "I think we are going to pay for that on the way home."

Tail wind plus a good road equals high speed.

Upon our arrival in Spencer we stopped at a convenience store for food and bottle refills.  Pop Tarts, Fig Newtons, and peanut butter cracker sandwiches were the popular choices.  Ryan  polished off a zip lock bag of Cheez-Its he packed for the ride.  I've got to say, I have been entertained over the years by the food he brings on a ride!  :-)

Food stop in Spencer.

Brian's prediction was very, very true.  We were eating a headwind for about 25 miles from Spencer south to Overton.  The sun had sporadically shone itself throughout the ride, mostly between Ashland and Spencer.  But on this final stretch we pedaled beneath heavily overcast skies.

My legs were toast after a couple pulls.  I felt like I couldn't recover from the efforts, no thanks to the persistent wind.  Fortunately Ryan and Brian were still strongly turning the pedals over and we pushed onward to Overton.

From Overton it was south to Smithville-Western and a eastward climb out of the valley.  We approached the climb and I dropped my chain shifting to the small ring.  I couldn't shift it back on and had to stop and dismount to the return the chain to its useful position.  Great, a perfect way to start a climb.

Thankfully my legs had recovered during our eased pace, and the blocked wind, on Overton Rd.  I felt better and had a good climb up Smithville Western.  After a long wait to cross SR83, we returned to the church where we had started.

Representing the OCC.

It was a pretty good ride: we stayed dry and warm, the route was enjoyed with some new roads for me, and we helped support international missions.  I'm glad the three of us were able to meet up and ride!