Biking at Stony Valley

It's sad to say, but I hadn't been on my bicycle since the first day of spring! Yesterday, though, I finally had the chance to go out again. Brian and I met up with our friends Rob and EB, and we headed to Dauphin to the Stony Valley Railroad Grade trail.

I had heard about this trail from a friend at work who rides it regularly. We thought it would be good to try it out since it's not too far away and it's a rail trail, which means it's pretty level.

Well first of all, getting there was interesting. The last two miles of the trip were on a pothole-laden dirt road which was barely wide enough for two cars. The ruts and holes were so bad that we could hardly ever go above 15 mph - which made the hand-made sign at the beginning of the road, asking people to go slowly, laughably unnecessary.

We finally arrived at the parking area, got on our bikes, and started down the trail. I had read on one website that the trail was kind of rough and best suited for mountain bikes, but when I asked my friend about it, he said he had pulled a baby trailer on the back of his hybrid bike along the trail several times last year, and that we shouldn't have a problem with it.

Well, we were able to ride on it, but it was definitely not easy in some places. I thought because it was a Rails-to-Trails trail, that it would be much like the one in Newville, which has crushed cinders and some small gravel, and is pretty well-maintained. However, apparently the Stony Valley trail is not specifically designed for bikes such as ours - it's more of a hiking and mountain biking trail. We encountered a wide range of conditions and ground coverings on the trail - anything from packed dirt, to crushed cinders, to small gravel, to pretty large gravel - and there were a few areas with some pretty big puddles in the path. It was quite inconsistent: we'd be going along just fine on packed dirt, and then all of a sudden there'd be this section with some pretty good-sized gravel, and we'd have to slow down some to be able to get through it. Our tires are just not that wide, and don't handle rough conditions as well as mountain bikes do.

Having said all that, we did enjoy the trail, at least the portion of it we rode (it's about 20 miles from end to end, but we only went 6 miles before we turned around). It's out in the middle of the woods, and it was very peaceful and pretty. It was a beautiful day to be out there, and I took quite a few pictures along the way.

However, I don't think any of us are in a hurry to go back there anytime soon. The road to get to the trail, and the trail itself, are just a little rougher than we want to deal with. (I guess my friend - and his baby - are tougher than we are!) But at least now we can say we tried it.

A Day of Firsts

I haven't posted for a while, but I haven't thought of anything that seemed worthy of an entire blog post. Now that I'm on Facebook (yes, finally), I've found that to be a useful venue for sharing brief and random thoughts, both of which the majority of my thoughts seem to be. :-) However, today I finally have what I feel is information worthy of a new blog post. So here goes!

Today, as most of you probably know, is the first day of spring. It's a day welcomed by many who are ready to say goodbye (or maybe even "good riddance") to the crazy winter of 2009-2010. I actually didn't mind the winter - I thought it was great to finally have a snowy winter again, like the ones I remember from my childhood growing up outside Chicago. But I'm also quite happy to welcome spring back today.

Well, today was about the best day you could have asked for, if you were wishing for a perfect first day of spring. Beautiful blue skies, a slight breeze, and temperatures hovering around 70 degrees! OK, so that's actually more like late spring than the beginning of spring, but I haven't heard anyone complaining yet!

Several of my friends and I were discussing Saturday's forecast earlier in the week, and we agreed that it sounded like a perfect day to begin another season as well - bicycling season! We made plans to meet at the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, and then we decided it would be even better if we brought a picnic lunch along!

So, that's exactly what we did. We met in Newville around 11:30, got our bikes ready, and headed down the trail.

It really was a gorgeous day for a ride. And I was so happy to see signs of life returning to the fields and trees. I may be wrong, but it seems like some of the trees are greening up this year earlier than usual.

I even got a couple pictures of my Holstein friends, which made me very happy. (You see, in addition to liking groundhogs, which I mentioned in my last post, I also like cows - especially Holsteins - and have since I was really young. I even have quite the collection of cow items - but that's a story for another time.)


You might think that our first ride of the season would be a pretty short, easy one. Well, it was pretty easy, since it was very level, but it was not short. In yet another first today, we rode all the way from Newville to the Shippensburg Township park! Of course I had to take a picture of the park pavilion as proof that we made it there.

OK, so the trail from Newville to Shippensburg is only about 9 miles, but then, of course, we had to ride all the way back! So on the first ride we've done in I don't know how many months, we went 18 miles! And to put this in a little better perspective, the longest ride I have ever done was 21 miles - and that was in the middle of summer after many weeks of riding. Today my quadriceps were crying out for a large portion of the ride back - it's a good thing we were on level ground, because I don't know how I would have handled any hills at that point!

When we got back to our cars, we broke out the picnic fixings and started eating with reckless abandon. And because I was too busy feeding my face with things like peanut butter and jelly, grapes, exotic crackers, cheeses, and ham (the last three items courtesy of our friends EB and Rob), I didn't take any pictures of the spread. But rest assured, there was a nice assortment of goodies to help us refuel after our long ride!

So, it's been a good day. I was so glad to be able to get outside and see the signs of spring arriving across the countryside - and to not yet be affected by the tree pollen, which is the one bad thing about spring. And hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get out of bed without groaning in agony!

21 Miles!

Just got back from my longest bike ride EVER - 21 miles!! What a far cry from last Sunday, when I was barely able to complete 9.5 miles without collapsing!

Although the weather conditions today were much the same as last Sunday - warm and humid, with patches of sun and clouds - the route we took today was much more forgiving. There were hills, to be sure, but nothing nearly as daunting as the ones of last week.

And now that we're done, I'm tired, but I'm not exhausted. And mentally, I feel great! I'm very pleased and proud to finally have ridden more than 20 miles at one time.

We're planning to go again tomorrow evening, although it'll have to be relatively short. But I'll definitely be ready for it!

But for right now, I've gotta hit the showers! :-)

Cruel & unusual punishment

You've probably noticed I haven't posted anything about riding my bike lately; that's partly because I've been busy going through the car-buying process, but also because I didn't have my bike. It was time for its 60-day tune-up, a service that Cole's Bicycle Shop provides when you purchase a new bicycle from them. They check to make sure that all the wires and cables and chains are working like they should after the bike has been broken in a little.

Unfortunately, this is their busy time of year, so I had to wait a week until it was ready. And of course, the day it was ready, we were getting lots of thunderstorms, so I didn't want to bring it home in the pouring rain. I was finally able to pick it up on Saturday, but I didn't get a chance to ride it until today.

Brian and I met our friends TC and Steve at a church near Steve's house. Steve lives about 15 minutes from our house, so we thought we'd try a different area for bicycling. We asked Steve if he had a route mapped out for us, and he said he did. He explained it briefly, and mentioned there were a couple of "cruel hills." (That's a direct quote from Steve.) Boy oh boy, was he not kidding!

The first 15 minutes or so of the ride was great - we went on these bike/walking paths in some developments, and it was pretty much all downhill. Then we went on the road, and that was still OK.

But all too soon, we started climbing the first "cruel hill." We hadn't really had the opportunity to build up any momentum, so it was really rough going. In fact, it was so rough going, that all of us ended up getting off our bikes and walking part of the way to the top! Brian stayed on his bike the longest, but even he had to admit defeat eventually.

Poor TC, who I want to make clear is usually one of the leaders, had it especially rough. He started the ride with a headache and had only eaten a bagel for breakfast. By the time we got to the top of the hill, he was not in good shape. I was not feeling too great either, but not as bad as him. So we ended up taking quite a substantial break at the top of the hill.

When everyone finally got their breath and strength back (cause even walking the bikes up the hill was a decent workout!), we continued on our trip. Steve said there was another small incline, then a large downhill slope, and then next would be the second "cruel hill."

When I got to the downhill part, I thought, "OK, I can do this. I'll build up my momentum and start pedaling furiously so I have a good shot at getting up this next hill." Well, the start of the hill was around a bend, so when I came around the corner, pedaling quickly with optimism and hope, I was in for quite a surprise. At that point I said, "Never mind," got off my bike, and joined Brian and Steve, who were already walking their bikes up the even-steeper second hill. I couldn't believe I had been shut down twice in one day! But it did make me feel somewhat better that nobody else felt up to the challenge either.

We had to take another brief break at the top of that hill as well, but then we continued on. A little while later I did manage to come from last place and beat everyone up another (more moderate) hill, but I really didn't take the lead the rest of the time.

This ride was definitely the hardest one I've done yet. I think it was a combination of things: not having been on my bicycle for over a week (the elliptical machine is just not the same!) and the weather. We were riding in the middle of the afternoon on a very humid day, and although the sun wasn't out the entire time, it was out most of the time, so that made it pretty uncomfortable.

By the time we got back to our starting point, I was really wiped out. I basically felt the way I did when I rode on the Rails to Trails with my brake rubbing my back tire the whole time. (That was probably my second toughest ride ever.) We stopped at a mini-market on the way home to get some Powerade, and by the time we were walking out of the store, I was feeling worse than ever. I made Brian drive home because I just felt so awful.

Luckily, the Powerade (I actually had Powerade Zero - didn't want all those extra calories!!) really did start kicking in, and by the time we got home, I at least wasn't feeling lightheaded and nauseous. But I was still really tired, and I had to go lie down a little while before I could even take a shower.

I think we're planning to ride again tomorrow - at least Brian, TC, and I are. But if Steve does show up, I don't think any of us are going to let him pick the route!! ;-)

Uphill Both Ways!

You know the joke about older folks sometimes make about how "When we were young, we had to walk 10 miles to school, and it was uphill! Both ways!" Well, I kind of feel like I just did that on my bicycle.

I went for a bike ride this evening with my husband and our friends Rob, Steve, and TC. Rob had come up with a route in advance, and he did tell us it had lots of hills. Now granted, it wasn't as bad as going through the Pyrenees on the Tour de France, but it was definitely a hilly ride!

I had been doing really well on my last few rides - so well, in fact, that I had been keeping my bike in 2/7 gear for entire rides, hills and all. But tonight I was forced to admit defeat and shift into lower gears on some of the hills. I went as low as 2/4, going about 5 mph, and I was still huffing and puffing! But despite my struggles, I was actually the first one to get to the top of some of the hills. So that made me feel better (at least mentally).

At one point in our journey, we ended up at a nearby drag strip. In the past, the guys have driven on the track while they're out for a ride - it's a nice empty road to pedal on, and it even forms a semi oval, so it's sort of like a velodrome. (Now, how many of you are going to look up that word? ;-))

Even though the track was empty, there were some people there, sitting in chairs under one of those "tarps held up by poles" things. (I simply can't think of the right word for that contraption! I guess I'm burned out after using 'velodrome.' :-)) We were worried they were going to chase us off the track, but they paid us no mind.

Then as we started riding down the track, Steve noticed something on the adjacent track, so everyone stopped and went over to look at it. I thought it was going to be baby animals or something cute, but instead it was several rows of quarters, laid out for hundreds of yards along the ground.

Then one of the people who was sitting under the "thingamajig" (it's 10 pm and I'm tired - I give up on that word!) came over towards us. I thought we were going to get yelled at, but instead she smiled and asked if we had any quarters to add to the path. We all started scrambling through pockets and bike bags, but we travel pretty light, and no one had any quarters. As we were searching, we asked her what the quarters were for, and she said it was a fundraiser for the Salvation Army. They're hoping to have a mile-long path of quarters tomorrow evening (when a big racing event will be taking place), which will be used to help feed needy people in the local area. She said this year they've been feeding about twice as many people as they did last year, which, given the current economic conditions, is not surprising. As she was talking, Rob found a dollar in his pocket, and he crumpled it up and threw it to her (she was about 30 feet from us). She laughed, thanked him, and said she would put four quarters down on the path to represent his contribution.

As we continued to apologize for not having more money to contribute, she said to me, "You can give me your bike!" She was joking, of course, but then she went on to say that she had just gotten a Trek hybrid bike about a year ago, and she loved it, but then she let her son take it to college, and someone stole it. She asked me where I got my bike, and I told her I got it at Cole's Bicycle Shop in Carlisle, and how friendly and helpful everyone is there.

I was surprised she didn't know about Cole's, since it's been around for years, but then we found out she just moved to Carlisle eight weeks ago, from Maine! And get this - she came from the same town that Steve and his wife had lived in several years ago, and knew of the amusement park Rob worked at up there many years ago! Talk about a small world!

We chatted with her a while longer, and then we finally resumed our ride. As we rode away, I remarked to Steve about what a amazing coincidence that was, going to a practically-deserted drag strip and meeting someone who just moved from the same town in Maine where he had lived. He agreed and said he really does believe in the "six degrees of separation" concept. And I think I agree with him too!

OK, so back to the ride. We ended up going back on one of the hilly roads we rode on earlier, only from the other direction, the hill was even steeper! I actually whimpered a little as I went up the hill. What makes it worse for me is that as of yet, I'm still unable to stand up and pedal - I'm just not coordinated or balanced enough. I did try for a couple of seconds, but I was just too wobbly, and I had to sit down again. However, I guess that means I probably got an even better workout!

When we finally ended the ride, the sun was setting, and my odometer read 17.5 miles. So that was my longest ride yet - and definitely the toughest! And, I actually went to the gym earlier in the afternoon and did a little workout on weight machines, so I got a LOT of exercise today!

I was kind of complaining as we went up the hills - mostly the later ones - but as is always the case when I exercise, when I'm finished, I never regret it. And I did stretch a lot when I got home, so I'm hoping I won't regret it tomorrow either! :-)

OK, as I said before, I'm pretty tired, so I need to end this. Good night! :-)

The Ascent

Because it took me so long to plant flowers on Sunday, we never did get to ride our bikes over the weekend. I was a little disappointed, but I was happy that I had been able to spend a lot of time outdoors - and as a bonus, I actually accomplished something as well!

Brian said we would definitely go for a bike ride on Monday. Then he casually mentioned that we would ride our bikes up to his parents' house to return a movie we had borrowed from them (Sideways, which we both enjoyed). Upon hearing this, I kind of flinched a little inside. His parents live in a neighborhood located about halfway up the side of a mountain - OK, not a mountain like the Rocky Mountains, but what passes for a mountain in this area. He reminded me that I said I wanted to get a better workout from biking than I had been. I then reminded him that I got more than enough of a workout the other day, riding 16 miles with my brake rubbing my rear tire! :-) However, I decided I was ready to accept the mountain-climbing challenge, so after a quick supper Monday evening, we took to our bikes and started our journey.

It's not really that far to Brian's parents' house from our house, and the ride to the base of the mountain is actually quite nice - a couple of gentle hills, but nothing too demanding. I even got to do some really good coasting at one point, which was quite fun.

But the fun ended not too long afterward, as we got ready to start the climb. Brian said the first section, up to the point where the road curves, was the worst. I was sort of surprised at that comment, since from my experience with driving up the hill, it seemed like there were steeper portions later on, but I soon discovered he was correct.

Wow! Was it tough! I was huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf, but it didn't seem like I was making any progress. I felt rather pathetic as cars drove past at 35 mph and I was struggling mightily to go 5 mph. I suppose I should have tried standing up off the seat, but I really didn't think about it at the time, and I'm not sure I'm quite comfortable with doing that yet.

However, somehow I did make it past "the worst part" without having to stop. And what a relief it was when the incline became more gradual! We went a little further up the hill until we came to a little gravel area off to the side, and then we stopped for a moment to get a drink and catch our breaths. Then it was "onward and upward" again.

The funniest part of the whole trip was when a car drove by us, and we realized it was Brian's dad's car! We both waved wildly as the car continued up the hill, but there was no indication that his parents saw us.

Finally, after some more uphill biking, we got to his parents' house. When his mother opened the door, she was quite surprised to see us in our cycling attire. We told her that they had just driven past us a few minutes beforehand, and that we even waved, but she said she didn't see us at all! I guess they were deep in thought or conversation or something.

Anyway, we dropped off the movie, drank some more water, and then began the fun - but slightly scary - part of going down the mountain. It was certainly much easier than going up, but we did have to be careful not to go too fast, and we had to really watch our rear-view mirrors for cars coming up behind us, because with the wind rushing in our ears, we couldn't really hear much. But we made it down the mountain safely.

After we got back to level ground, we took a slightly different way to get home, and when we got back to our driveway, my trip odometer was at exactly 10.0 miles. So it wasn't my longest ride, but it definitely had the most challenging part to it that I've done so far. And I considered it a personal accomplishment to have "conquered" that mountain, because the last time I rode a bicycle, before I got my own a few weeks ago, was quite a few years ago (more than 5, I'm sure) when I borrowed Brian's sister's old 10-speed bike (which was too small for me, although I didn't really realize it at the time) and rode with Brian up and around the hills of his parents' neighborhood. It was not a very great experience for me, and I believe I did end up having to walk the bike up a hill at some point. So I was happy that this ride in that neighborhood went much better than my last one.

Whew!!

Since I got my bicycle, many people have asked me how I've been enjoying it so far. I've told them that I'm really enjoying it; in fact, I'm enjoying it even more than I thought I would. However, I've also pointed out that the rides I've done so far have been pretty easy, and the weather has been really nice, so it hasn't really been much of a challenge. I guess at one point my husband heard me tell someone I didn't think I was getting as good of a workout riding my bicycle as I would get at the gym, and he kept that in mind. And today, he decided to make sure I didn't feel like riding a bike wasn't enough of a workout.

We just got back a while ago from my longest ride yet. Here is proof of how far I went today:

(In case you can't see it too well, that's 13.71 miles.)

We did this ride in the middle of the afternoon, in 85 degree temperatures, and we went up as many hills on this one ride as I think I've done in all the other rides combined! (Well, maybe not quite, but it was a lot!) AND, I'd also like to point out that I did this ride with one less pint of blood than usual, as I had gone to the Blood Donation Center just a couple of hours beforehand!

Despite the tougher conditions on this ride, I did still enjoy myself. There were still more flat sections than hills, and there was a nice breeze that kept us pretty cool. Plus, we took a couple of breaks to drink our water. But I definitely feel like I got a workout this time!! And that's a good thing, since tonight we are going to The Melting Pot for dinner, where I'll be indulging in cheese and chocolate fondue! I'll try to post about that experience sometime later this weekend. But for now, I've got to get cleaned up!

First Rails to Trails ride

This evening Brian and I drove down to Newville to check out the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail. The first accomplishment of the evening was getting both bikes in the car successfully! We were quite pleased about that, so maybe we won't have to invest in a bike rack for the car just yet.

The Rail Trail was really nice! It's mostly level, with a crushed, packed gravel sort of surface for the vast majority of the trail. We really didn't have trouble on it with our bikes, since we have tires that are made to handle that kind of surface.

A lot of the trail is rather secluded, with trees lining either side of it, so you can't really see anything beyond the trees, although there are a few open areas that go through farm fields. It's very pretty along the trail right now, with the trees greening up and the honeysuckle and lilacs blooming. We saw several kinds of animals along the path- a few rabbits, some cats from nearby farms, and even a deer! Seeing the deer was really neat.

We decided to go five miles down the trail, then we turned around and headed back. So we ended up riding 10 miles today - my longest ride yet! And it really wasn't hard at all. The worst part of it was sitting on that little seat. ;-) We both said we could have gone farther without a problem. But it was getting late, and we hadn't eaten dinner yet. And 10 miles was a nice round number!

I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how much I'm enjoying riding my bike so far. Of course, today's ride was probably under just about the ideal conditions - cloudy skies, moderate temperatures, a level path, no cars to worry about - so there was really no reason for me not to enjoy it. But I suspect even the more challenging rides won't dissuade me from continuing with this new hobby, which is good, since I've invested quite a bit of money in it already!

Another new era has begun!

Sunday wasn't just the first day I wrote a blog. It was also the first day I rode my new bicycle! After much trepidation and uncertainty, I finally became a 'biker chick' on Friday.

My husband Brian has owned a bicycle - a Trek 7.2 FX - since the summer of 2007, and he's been going on regular rides with several of our friends who also have bicycles. At first I expressed absolutely no interest in joining them - I was perfectly happy getting my exercise by going to the gym and walking at the park. I did not have fond memories of riding bicycles in the past, and I was quite sure I wouldn't enjoy it any more now than I did back then. However, as time passed, and the group went on more excursions, I began to rethink my anti-bicycle stance.

One particularly noteworthy occasion was back in early October, when I joined everyone on a day trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield National Park. While everyone else got on their bicycles and went off as a group to tour the battlefields, I was on my own, exploring a much smaller area by walking around by myself. Every now and again, the rest of the group would meet up with me as I was walking, but of course then they would pedal away to another destination. I did actually enjoy myself at the park- it was a beautiful day, and I did see quite a bit for just walking - but I know I would have had even more fun had I been able to be with the group the entire time.

So, as this year's bicycle season approached, I began thinking more seriously about getting my own bicycle. After all, I'm in much better shape than I was the last time I rode a bike, so that has to account for something. Plus, I'd be going riding with other people, which would undoubtedly make it more fun as well.

In early April Brian ordered some special biking sandals (they have soles so hard they could knock you out if you were hit on the head with them!), and they finally came in last week, so when he went to Cole’s Bicycle Shop on Friday to pick them up, I went along - ostensibly just to ‘look’ at bikes. Well, it turned into an hour and a half expedition! (Brian had to feed the parking meter three times!) We ended up working with one of the store owners, Cinda, who was just fantastic. She was very knowledgeable, and she helped me figure out what size bike I needed.

I ended up getting a Trek 7.3 - the men's model - which has a 22.5 inch frame. Even at that size, I have to have the seat raised a couple of inches in order for it to fit properly. The 7.3 is more expensive than the model Brian has, but I didn’t like the 7.2 FX they had in the store because it was a brownish color (I know, that’s a lame excuse), and the 7.3 was the only other one they had in stock that a) fit me and b) was similar in style to Brian’s (as in the type of riding it’s designed for) and c) was a color I liked :-) . I know I could have just ordered one, but I think Brian was also anxious for me to get a bike right away. And he paid for half of the entire bill (which was ghastly) – I think that was also because he wanted to encourage me as much as possible about getting into this. And it is a really good bike, so I guess that should presumably help to enjoy biking more – right? (as I desperately search for more possible reasons to justify spending so much money :-()

I did ‘girlify’ my bike a little by getting a women’s gel saddle on it, which has pink trim along the edge and a pink ribbon on the seat, and a pink water bottle cage.  :-) 

The great folks at Cole’s also made a few other adjustments/additions to my new bike. They installed a different handlebar stem, so the handlebars sit a little higher up and at an angle closer to my body, so I don’t have to bend over as much, which will hopefully protect my back. They also put different tires on it, so they’re more like the tires Brian has on his bike, which will be good since we’ll be riding on the same kinds of surfaces. And of course I had to get stuff like a headlight, a taillight, a computer, and a kickstand.  :-)

Then, of course, I had to get a helmet, gloves, bike shorts (two pair), and a helmet mirror. And Brian ended up getting a new helmet (since his is pretty old and they’re giving $15 off this month on helmets) and gloves as well.

So it ended up being quite an expensive trip to the bicycle shop on Friday! I'm really hoping it will turn out to be money well spent.

I didn’t get to try it out until Sunday afternoon, after everyone went home after the Mother's Day brunch. It has been a very long time since I rode a bike, and the last bike I owned was a three-speed, so I didn’t even know how to shift gears. Brian took me over to the parking lots of the schools right by our house, and first I rode around slowly, just so I could get used to being on a bicycle again. Then he explained to me about the gears and how and when to shift. There are a couple of inclines right there in the parking lots, so I was able to try out shifting gears in that environment first, which was good. After a while of just riding around in the parking lots, we did venture out into the town. We stuck to the side streets, for the most part. I ended up logging 8 miles on my first trip, which I know isn’t much, but I felt was a good start.

We went out again this evening, and we ended up going 8.5 miles. We were on some busier roads, and we also went up a couple of good-sized (or should I say bad-sized?) hills. I had some trouble shifting gears on the first hill, but I think that's the bicycle is still in the "breaking in" phase. Nevertheless, I did pedal the bike all the way to the top of both hills, which I felt was a pretty good achievement.

I did feel more comfortable this evening being on the bike and shifting gears, but I'm still having trouble adjusting and using my helmet mirror. However, I'm sure using it will become more natural over time, and I'll get it adjusted just right. I'm also still a little nervous about being on the road with lots of cars, especially if I have to do any hand signals, but I know I'll also get more comfortable with that over time. I'm hoping it won't be too long before I can join the rest of the group and not bring them down too much!

Oh, and in yet another milestone, I'm going to attempt to post some pictures of my bike below. I'm branching out like crazy! :-)