Day Twenty: Build and Bike - Yellow Springs

 As a result of some route reorganizing, we made the day into Yellow Springs, OH a Build and Bike day. We woke at 0500 to build with HFH of Columbus, and then cycled the 52 miles to Yellow Springs.

The build went very well. Habitat of Columbus is completing a nine house project north of downtown, and we were able to help with finishing work. I did touch-up interior paint work for an entire house.

Today was our first flat ride. I ride with Jane and Ellen (Jane's mother) to our lunch stop at a Wal-Mart, battling on and off rain, cool weather, and headwinds. Keith (Jane's father) met us at lunch, and we time-trialled into town. I was holding 26 MPH on the flats, pulling Keith along behind me!

Day Nineteen: Driving to Columbus, the City of Driving

Today was an 82 mile day. I was in the van, running various errands, and ended up driving the route three times over.

Last night, Sarah and Emily approached me with bicycle issues. Sarah's right pedal thread was stripped, and Emily's rear derailleur broke following aluminum metal fatigue. As a result, I had to make a bike shop run, dropping the trailer at the side of Ohio SR 16 and driving to Columbus.

Jane's parents and maternal grandparents met us in Columbus, after the day of riding. Her grandfather was an aerospace engineer, and her grandmother was a reference librarian. They're wonderful people, and I'm glad I finally got to meet them. Keith and Ellen (Jane's parents) will be riding with us for the next two days.

I went to bed around 2000. It seemed like the thing to do. I've been pushing myself to the point of starvation, dehydration, and sleep deprivation.

Day Eighteen: Happy Birthday, Jane!

Today was Jane's birthday! In lieu of the usual wake-up song, we decided to sing Jane "Happy Brithday". At 0600, we sound less like a chorus of angels, and more like a chorus of frogs. The riders got together and bought Jane a birthday card, filled with very kind comments.

My birthday promise to Jane was to ride the whole day with her. We spent the day riding together to Newcomerstown, OH, and ended up being the first group of riders to arrive.

Our host, Joy Snyder, seemed to be very excited to have us, and very used to dealing with large groups. There were signs all over the host location telling us where to sleep, to eat, to store our bicycles, and so on.

We had the good fortune to be in a parade! As part of the Cy Young Days festival, we got to march in the parade. I was not there myself, but I hear it went very well.

Day Seventeen: Country Road, Take Me Home to Steubenville

At the beginning of the day off, we did a full dump of the van and trailer, just for good measure. Well, this morning, everything had to go right back in the van and trailer, so it took us longer to get on the road.

Armed with strong legs and a GPS, I tackled today's heavily urban route out of Pittsburgh. We took the West End bridge to Carson Street, then hopped on the Steubenville Pike for most of the way in to town. There were a number of tricky turns, so I'm glad I had my GPS. I called back to the van and chalked to notify the other riders of the trickiest turns.

The GPS did not manage to take me across the Fort Steuben Bridge, which managed to work well for the riders. Instead, I followed the Interstate-like Route 2 to the Market St Bridge, which was much less pleasant.

I arrived at 1110, about two hours ahead of the next group. Our hosts treated me to an excellent lunch.

We spent the afternoon doing a "complement train" team building activity, where we all gave each other positive remarks. Between this, and a presentation, everyone is in high spirits.

It is unbelievably humid here.

Day Sixteen: Day Off in Pittsburgh

Today, we had a non-riding, non-build day in the city of Pittsburgh. Our reward for some hairy riding into the city was an entire day to ourselves.

Jane and I spent most of the morning and early afternoon hours exploring Pittsburgh's South Side. We took a ride on on Monongahela incline car, and walked to the REI. We stopped by Ted's Excellent bicycle Shop. Ted, a professional mechanic most recently from California, recently moved to Pittsburgh with his new wife. He was married at the age of 42! There is hope for everyone!

Later in the evening, Jared Bieniek of P2S '06 paid us a visit.

Day Fifteen: Next Stop, Pittsburgh

We woke up at 0600 today, affording more precious sleep. The leaders made a deal with the riders this morning: if you pre-pack the night before, and are able to be on the road by 0730, we'll let you sleep in. The riders obliged, and with the help of a fantastic brakfast courtesy of the YWCA, we were able to pack, dress, eat, and have a motivating meeting very quickly.

As I was rolling out this morning, I had the idea of doing a nonstop ride to Pittsburgh. I left town with a long train of people, but as the group slowed on the first climb of the day, I didn't slow. As I blasted off the front, Lindsay called out, "I guess we'll see you in Pittsburgh." She was correct.

I had one of the best rides I've had in a while. With my GPS, I was able to not get lost, and chalk tricky turns for other riders. With the exception of a couple of traffic lights, chalking, some route calls to the van driver, and a flat tire at mile 65, I had a nonstop ride. I was able to manage my fueling and hydration almost perfectly. I didn't have to pee, but I wasn't dehydrated. I got into town at 1240.

The group was excited for dinner, and the day off. I'm ready for bed.

Day Fourteen: Driving the Van to Johnstown

We had a lovely stay in Johnstown at the YWCA. The facility is an old Victorian mansion, just this beautiful house with hardwood floors and wood paneling. Dinner and breakfast were superb, we had some media coverage, and we all had an excellent time. Our town hall meeting was productive, and conducted in a civilized and positive manner.

It was a difficult day for the riders, with about 5700 feet of climbing over 80 miles (according to Lenny's GPS data). I'm sad that I did not get to climb or descend the numerous 14% grades and switchbacks of the day - it looked like fun riding.

I'm disappointed with the number of people who were in the van today. We're too lax with allowing riders to ride in the van. The only way to improve is to ride.

Day Thirteen: State College Express

The day started with an 0500 wakeup, our earliest yet. The cafeteria/auditorium in the Berwick Area Middle School has no outside windows, so it looks the same at all hours of the day. We couldn't tell that it was still dark outside.

Breakfast this morning was provided by Claudia and Eric, as well as Front Street Bagels in Berwick. We're getting spoiled, with these on the house restaurant breakfasts! I had way too much food in the morning, which enabled me to be properly fueled for once.

I decided to push hard today with Lenny. We were holding about 22-23 MPH on the flats. He did a great job keeping up.

Today was our first "century" ride. We had a 95-mile ride from Berwick to State College, but some people chose to ride the additional five miles to get to 100. I was sufficiently pleased with my riding today, that I didn't see this as necessary. I ended up logging just over 99 miles, with a trip into town after arrival.

Lenny and I skipped major lunch stops, instead opting for smaller, lighter meals. I mainly consumed Clif bars, Clif shot blocks, and Gatorade on the road.

We got into town at around 1430. We spent time with Clay, our host and former head of Penn State Cycling, and to head into town and get the best sticky buns I've ever had. I also got to talk shop with Justin at Freeze Thaw Cycles. Much fun. I even got to call Mike Short, for the first time in too long!

Riders were treated to showers at the YMCA and an excellent vegetarian dinner upon arrival.

Day Twelve: Berwick with Jane

Today, we woke in Mount Pocono for the trek to Berwick. We've been looking forward to the Berwick overnight, since Jane's aunt and uncle, Claudia and Eric, have done so much to host us. After an 0530 wakeup, we went to Bailey's steak house just down Route 611, where Rebecca Sarajian was so gracious as to host our entire group for breakfast, on the house!

The ride to Berwick was, for the most part, beautiful. We hit some rain on the way out. Much to our dismay, we discovered that Woodland Drive did not, in fact, cross the Interstate as Topo lead us to believe.

I rode with a few people into lunch, and then headed into town with Jane. We drafted each other on the flats, and I waited for her on the hills. I was very glad, as I am every day, to have my GPS, which helps prevent me from getting lost.

On the way into town, we met a photographer. We made it into the newspaper! (See below.)

Jane and I spent the afternoon at Eric and Claudia's house. It's a beautiful log house, and it's much more impressive in the summer than at Thanksgiving. I wish I could have spent more time there, just to relax.

We had dinner at the Reliance Fire Hall. Woltech, Inc., Eric's company, provided 6' subs for dinner, while Claudia provided regular and raw milk. A couple of reporters from a Scranton news station came by, and interviewed a number of us. Eric managed to record the show, and I hope the see the video in the future. After dinner, the firefighters let us explore the fire trucks while waiting for the van. What impressive pieces of engineering!

I gave a clinic on derailleur adjustment to about 10 riders. It was well received, but lacking in hands-on work.

Day Eleven: Climbing Mount Pocono. Thrice.

I took a trip 30 years back in time this morning. I had to fuel the van, so, taking advantage of our location, I drove to New Jersey. Gas was $3.95 a gallon there, and this was not a well kept secret. Along the way to New Jersey, we passed a gas station that had very recently closed (within the past week, with handwritten signs telling potential patrons "sorry, no gas"). Just across the state line, we found six gas stations, each with about 10 pumps, with each pump having about 4 vehicles in line. Apparently, everyone pulls off the Interstate there to get gas. We waited 15 minutes in line to fill!

Our lead riders picked an apt location for lunch. The local Subway restaurant let us each have a 6" sandwich. I killed time at lunch doing bike repairs and bike fittings. Allie's front shifter stopped working; a shop replaced it, and all is well now.

We're staying with the Mount Pocono United Methodist Church. At the last moment, Rebecca, one of the parishioners, got us food from our restaurant! We all appreciated this greatly.

When I got to the church, I decided that I needed some exercise. There is a 1200 foot climb to Mount Pocono, and after driving, I changed, and climbed it twice in two hours. Apparently, Kyle chalked on the road: "You are a badass..." and "...Jose drove" at the top of the climb, much to everyone's amusement. I put them in their place by doing the climb twice, faster than any of them did.

Off to Berwick! I just hope the rain stays far away.

Photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/2598195729/
http://flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/2599028170/
http://flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/2599027842/

Day Ten: The Slow Road to Port Jervis

Sweep is a necessary evil, and once again, I found myself trudging along at 12 MPH, helping riders who needed our help. Ideally, we'd be this one fast, injury-free group that rode along a perfect, straight, car-free road with no confusing intersections.

The sun came out several times today. I got to ride with Jane for a while on some nice, empty roads. I didn't get any flats, and my bicycle is performing like a champion.ething new every day.

I've put on 12 lbs, according to the scale in the dining room at the Drew United Methodist Church here in Port Jervis, NY. I'm not riding as hard as I usually do, nor am I eating well.

I need more sleep. I'm going to try to go to bed earlier, and push back on my repair load.

Day Nine: Build in Newburgh, NY

We woke at 0630 to head to Newburgh, NY. We set out to help the very active Habitat chapter located there. Newburgh Habitat's quest is to provide housing for the 1800 eligible families in the city. We helped them move bricks and furniture. These may seem like fairly menial tasks, but they do help in the ultimate goal of building more houses.

Two alums visited us at the build site: Liz Smietana NC2SD'07 and Eric Siegel P2S'07. Apparently, my reputation precedes me.

Dave Miller quietly slipped off this morning, after the first van shuttle to the build site. A few people mentioned that they were sad to not have said proper goodbyes. We'll all miss Dave, especially me.

We had our first mail pickup today in Poughkeepesie, NY. The group is happier for the influx of letters and cookies.

We had an affordable housing meeting tonight, where we discussed some of the basic FAQs of Habitat for Humanity and other housing programs. I missed much of the meeting, as I was working on people's bicycles. Derailleurs and brakes are all going haywire after a break-in period and a few days of wet, hilly riding. I wish I weren't the only person doing this work.

Good News! (kinda sorta)

http://www.velonews.com/article/77542

So, it looks like I'll be able to upgrade my PowerTap SL 2.4 to work with my Edge 705, eventually, for a price. Better late than never.

Day Eight: Poughkeepsie Express

It took me longer than usual to pack this morning, having lost my Camelbak. I called Ordinary Cycles later in the afternoon, and found that I left the Camelbak there. Overnight mail will bring it to Poughkeepsie tomorrow.

I left with Dave, Lenny, and Jane. I used my GPS to help win the state line sprint at the New York state line, attacking from the back with about 300 meters to go. After a few photo ops, Dave and I continued onward. We rode down a 15% descent on a dirt road. After that, I decided to route us around the next gravel road we encountered. This added a little bit of mileage to our journey.

Upon arriving at Hudson, NY at mile 35, Dave and I decided that we were better off grabbing a flying lunch down the road, than stopping and waiting for the trailer. We took off, down a pretty congested Route 9G, working together and holding about 24 MPH on the flats. We arrived at our host location around 2:15pm, well before the van or the next group. We managed to avoid the rain that made the day so difficult for those who arrived after us.

My mother came to visit our group today. She took the train from Brooklyn, just to spend a few hours with the group. We talked some, and socialized with the rest of the riders. She said a few kind words to the group just after dinner, which people received well after the hard day of riding.

Day Seven: Pittsfield, MA

Day Seven of our journey was a day of highs and lows. I mean that both metaphorically, as I'll explain shortly, and literally, as we gained and lost over 4000 feet of elevation over the course of the day.

Electronic cue sheets are working amazingly well on this trip. It is unbelievably useful to have an accurate map with active location right there on the bicycle, helping me along as I go. I'm never lost, and I know where all of the turns are!

The day's riding was great fun. We hit a 17% grade, which Dave and I climbed twice, just to stir the pot. We saw some goats on the side of the road. We got to lunch so early, that we had to wait over 45 minutes for the van. The general store had a non-public restroom, for fear of overflowing the septic tank.

After arriving in Pittsfield, we visited Ordinary Cycle. I needed some grease for my Speedplay pedals. The shop had all sorts of old timey stuff, like Spokey spoke wrenches (I bought two), an extensive selection of tubular tires, Mavic GEL 280 rims, a duplicate of the bicycle I rode down the Pacific Coast Highway. The proprietor looked like something of a Glenn Swan clone, so we asked him if he knew Glenn and, sure enough, they were old buddies. Awesome.

We saw Charlie in Pittsfield! Dr. Charles LaGoy, as he is now known, was my big brother through a Big Brothers program in Brooklyn from 1996 to 1999. Some twelve years later after we first met, Charlie, his wife Melissa, and children Hannah and Finn, are residents of Pittsfield. Charlie just finished medical school. Jane finally got to meet Charlie, which was great! Charlie came with us to dinner and regaled us with stories of all sorts of things. I'm amazed by how much I can still learn from Charlie.

I left my fork at dinner. Lenny brought it back for me. Thank you, Lenny.