Tim's Ride

Tim's Ride

Tim is the captain of the PHAT Tuesday PMC team. The first time I rode on the Tuesday evening rides he rolled up next to me and said "Don't kill yourself trying to catch up (to the fast riders who just dropped me)!"

This was a 55 mile rider that meandered around Metro West. Tin, his brother Mark, and I were the only ones who downloaded the ride to our respective GPS units prior to the ride. Mark and I were the only 2 riders who did the entire route correctly.

The "pack" missed a turn in Westwood. Tim set out using 21st century technology (a cell phone) to track them down. I rode with Mark wondering if: a) we were going to catch up to the group b) the group was hopelessly lost.

It had turned out it was b). Mark needed to make a pit stop and we were at a point in our ride where we weren't going to pass any more convenience stores or gas stations. However I knew we would be passing the Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Norfolk. They had bathrooms and a "bubbler".

While Mark was inside I figured I would stand by the road and see if Tim would catch up to us. In less than a minute, I saw a pack of riders approaching. It was Tim and the lost pack. Talk about timing.

Tim was nice enough to route the ride right past my house. So when I got home I stopped and waved as everybody else rode by :-)

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Hot Day in Coventry

Laps

For this lunch time ride I decided to keep it simple. I mapped out a 6 mile loop of all right turns and did it twice. It was hot out. I really didn't check the weather before heading out. It was sunny and in the middle of the day, so I expected it to be hot. I didn't realize until I got back that it was in the lower to mid 90's.

I kept well hydrated and kept moving so I didn't get Heat Exhaustion. I had thought it was odd that I burned through 1½ bottles of Gatorade during a short 12 mile ride. That and I noticed salt stains on my RoadId wristband.

Despite the heat I had a very enjoyable ride.

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PHAT Tuesday Ride: Marty Sucking Wind

Need to ride more

I was sucking wind by mile 5. Stupid me trying to hang on to Ed's wheel early on in the ride.

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PMC Route and Tower Hill

South to Tower Hill

It was a nice day and I thought it was about time I hit Tower Hill. So I headed due south. I climbed over Summer St and connected with the PMC route in Wrentham. I followed that until I got near RI. Then I took a shortcut past the reservoir.

Tower Hill

Tower Hill Road in Rhode Island is always a work out. There is a very steep grade at the very bottom. Then it is a rolling ascent to the top. It always feels good to get to the top.

Jason

On my way home I stopped at a friends house. I saw his Mountain Bike parked out from so I figured he was out and about. I pulled in and we chatted for about a half hour.

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Inagural Biking at Work

Coventry, RI

I just recently started a contract position in Coventry, RI. It is essentially in the middle of RI. It also feels like the middle of nowhere. It is too far to bike commute to (45+ miles each way), so I have to figure out another way to get some mid week riding in (Outside of the PHAT Tuesday Rides). One option is to park in Cranston (or West Warwick) and take the Washington Secondary Bike Trail in.

-or-

I could just bring my bike to work and ride it at lunchtime.

Someday I might try the "Drive-park-bike" combination commute. However I figured I would try the lunchtime ride first. I mapped out a number of < 15 miles rides that I figured I could squeeze in during lunch.

So that's what I did this past Monday. This area is hilly. I rode north, then west out to Rt. 102, which apparently is 300-400 ft. higher than my starting point. Coming back I went down a 12% grade. that was fun, but not something I want to do every day. In the future I will ride the other routes that do not have that steep grade.

It felt good to get a ride in during lunch.

NBW Arrows

I noticed some NBW Route markers painted on the rod along this ride. I did some quick investigation and determined that they were for the NBW Club's "Tom & Pat's Half Century" Ride, which stars in Coventry, RI. I more or less did the 19 mile option.

RoadID

Since I was in the middle of unfamiliar territory, essentially alone, I made sure to update my RoadID information with my new work address and my manager's contact information.

If you do not have a RoadID, I highly recommend you get one.

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Last Saturday...

An Afternoon to myself

My wife had a friend visiting and they took the girls to the Outlets to go shopping. That gave me the opportunity to go out for a long ride.

North to Holliston (then flying blind...)

I started out by heading north and west through Medway until I got to 126, then I kept on going north. When I got to where 126 met 16, I went straight. Now normally I like to preview a route on a map so I can get an idea of where I am going. I know the road on the other side of Rt 16 went somewhere, but I had no idea where. Sometimes you just have to go.

So this blind journey took me through some back roads and eventually through some more residential neighborhoods. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I was going north and west. I also saw that the house numbers were decreasing so I knew I wasn't going down a dead end.

To my surprise I wound up coming out right nest to the Out Post Farm in Holliston, MA.

I once again knew where I was. From there I headed east (ultimately to Dover) trying to stick to back roads and trying out new back roads. I cut through the Industrial park in Holliston (Lowland St. & Jeffrey Ave.). Not very scenic, but zero traffic on a Saturday afternoon. I was looking for a road that ran parallel to 16 and cut over to Hollis St. in Sherborn. I found it :-)

After reaching Dover center I headed back south through Medfield and Norfolk. I passed by a lot of nice houses.

My goal was to hit 40 miles. I did 38. Close enough.

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Cold, Slow, Phat Ride...

It's May, Right?

Overcast, just under 60° F (and dropping), it was cold. Long bike pants, feather weight thermal under my North Face Shell and I was still a bit chilly.

I rode with the slow group, only they weren't as slow as h was. I got dropped at mile 4.5 on Burnt Swamp road. Thank goodness there was an even slower group behind me that I was able to jump onto. That group was being pulled by Jamie, the newest member of Team PHAT Tuesday. I was determined not to get dropped by Jamie, so I rode tight on his wheel and matched every gear change a change in cadence that he made. By doing that I was able to settle down and get into a groove.

Slow

Last September 1st I did this ride in 1:21:38, averaging 18.4 mph. Tonight I rode it in 1:34:27, averaging 15.9 mph. It was my slowest PHAT Tuesday ride on record.

Well, it can only get better from here on out.

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Tuesday Morning - Last Day of Unemployment

Nice Weather

It was a perfect morning for a ride. I debated on whether or not to go because I was planning on joining up with the Phat Tuesday ride later that evening. However there was a chance of thunderstorms in the evening.

I decided that the weather was too nice to NOT ride, so I went out for a 20 mile ride in the morning. It was a sweet ride :-)

Phat Thunder

It's a good thing I got that ride in. There were severe thunderstorm warnings for right when the training ride was supposed to happen. We're talking about hail, 70 mph gusts, and other fun stuff. I think about 10 people showed up. Then the winds came, then it rained. I knew more was on the way. The ride was cancelled. Simply unsafe even if it did stop raining

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Pan Mass Challenge

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