Pre-Father's Day Metric Century

This Saturday, June 18, was the perfect day for a ride, so Princess Aurora and I got on the bike and hit the road. By the time it was all said and done, we'd managed to get in a "Metric Century" ride (100km) for the day.  We actually rode 65.6 miles, but who's counting.

I didn't get a GPS log of the ride, but I did create a route map so that interested folk like yourself could see it:

The Route (click to enlarge)

Miss A and I started off with our usual grind up Pinnacle Hill Road in Harvard at around the 6.5 mile mark.  It's a steady 1-mile climb, with an annoying 4-way stop right around the mid-point. But the great thing about that grind is that soon after, there's a really thrilling downhill into Harvard town center. On this ride we managed to hit 49.1 mph on that descent with no wobbles, disconcerting clicks, cracks or TFOBs -- so that bode well for the rest of the ride.

Below is  a picture of Princess, safely seated in the wayback on this ride.

I didn't put Miss A on her front perch for this ride (like she was on last year's PMC) because I couldn't find her safety belt. But she was a real trooper and didn't complain: she never even flinched on that high-speed downhill into Harvard. I usually close my eyes and scream.

The ride down from Harvard to Bolton, Lancaster and Clinton was a scenic and relaxing ride. There were an awful lot of cyclists out taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and I rode by more soccer games than I could count. The ride around Wachusett Reservoir was, as usual, just beautiful -- and there was just enough wind to keep the deerflies off my scent.  (I don't think I saw any on this trip, now that I think of it.)  I should try to stop and take more pictures, but I really don't like to stop...

Anyway, once we got to Northboro we stopped for about 20 minutes to visit with my in-laws Dick and Hazel Bemis -- then back on the road. We stopped a few miles later in downton Hudson for a soft pretzel, an ale and some ice water at Medusa Brewing Company, but didn't tarry too long. Medusa is my new favorite place to stop in Hudson now; the place is very chill, as the kids say.  If you like great beer, interesting tattoos and reggae music, then this place is your trifecta.

We were soon back on the bike and on our way northward out of Hudson. We stopped once more in West Acton at True West Brewing Company, right on Route 111 near Central Street. I was planning on rehydrating with one of their Ruckus IPAs only to be informed they were out. So instead we opted for more water and a pint of Citra IPA from Jack's Abbey (an excellent brewery headquartered just down the road in Framingham.)  Our electrolytes again restored, we got on the bike to finish the ride, headed home to Littleton.

At mile 62, only 3 miles from home, we had our first and only incident of the ride.  We were tooling down Mill Street in Littleton at a pretty good clip (about 25 mph), grooving to  "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder.  When Mill Street gets to Parlee Lumber, it takes a hard right and becomes Warren Street.  It occurred to me (too late) that I needed to slow my roll in order to make that turn. I'm not sure if I braked a little too hard and momentarily locked my rear wheel, if I hit some sand  -- or both.  Either way, the rear wheel skidded out from under us and we went down: right in the big middle of the road. 15 years of riding a recumbent and that has never happened to me.

We were really lucky on 2 fronts: first and foremost, there was no traffic; Miss A and I were the only ones on the road.  Secondly,  I laid the bike down on the drive side (the side with the chain), so I was certain that I'd ruined the derailleur.  Not so! I have a water bottle cage mounted on the side of my seat and it got crumpled, sacrificing itself and holding the bike up off the road just far enough that the derailleur never touched the asphalt. My right forearm and fingers gave up a little skin in the process, too.  See:

My right forearm and the asphalt exchanged molecules...

Last but not least, we were also extremely lucky that Miss A was unscathed.

Princess Aurora -- Unscathed, but a little grimy from the ride

Below is a picture of Miss A, taken in our driveway at the end of the ride, about 2.5 miles from the Mill Road wipe-out.  And as you can see, Princess Aurora is all smiles and none the worse for wear --  save for a couple of chain grease smudges.


We'd set out to cover a metric century loop and made it with no flats, no cramps and really just a minor boo-boo at the end.  I'm relieved that Pinnacle Hill Road gets a little more bearable each time I do it, and my knees are feeling OK.
So that's a good sign.

So keeping with the positive vibe of this ride, Miss A and I would like to thank all of you excellent people who're supporting the PMC with your donations.

We're getting closer by the mile and cannot do this without your help.  So thank you.

Bye for now!

Maddy, Miss A and Nicole

I just realized that I always seem to lead off my posts with a quote or an apology.

Sorry about that.

But seriously, I've been really remiss on fund- and awareness-raising for this year's PMC ride. For me, writing comes hard and procrastination is second-nature, so I'll just apologize for not being more communicative and get on with it. Sorry. Really.

Wheels are still turning, both figuratively and literally for this year's PMC... I've been on the bike every day back and forth to work, but only a few 40-mile rides so far this season. I'm anxious to get at 70-miler in this weekend and the weather looks promising. I'm so fortunate to live in a region where there are so many scenic places to bike -- and tons of routes that I can start by riding out my driveway.

Princess Aurora, my passenger on last year's PMC, happened to be here in my basement lair as I was typing this up, so I took a picture of us both.

Me and Miss A

"Miss A" rode along with me last year as a nod to another Princess, Madison Ward.  Right now, Maddy is back for her 2nd trip to St. Judes in Memphis, TN getting another cycle of chemo. Last year, when I first posted about Maddy, she had just turned 5 and it was her first trip to St. Jude's. 

I have watched this brave little girl from afar for almost 2 years now... watched her endure multiple cycles of chemo and radiation treatments. I've seen her lose her hair, grow it back, then lose it again. But I've never seen her quit. And you better believe that Maddy's family hasn't quit. So why would I? How could I not keep doing the PMC?   And how could I leave Princess Aurora behind ? So I'll be riding with Miss A and for Maddy again this year.

Nicole Rasile McPherson is another person I was riding for on last year's PMC. Nicole is  my cousin Dusty's wife and was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma a little over 3 years ago.  Here's a picture of Nicole and Dusty from 2014.

Dusty and Nicole 

I opted to not post the picture of Dusty in the "chemo wig". You're welcome, Dusty.

I will be riding the PMC for Nicole again this year, but this time it will be in celebration!  After multiple rounds of chemo/radiation and 2 stem cell transplants, she's finally got a clean bill of health: no signs of cancer! All clear!

So while I may have been slow on the blog posts this year (and the bike, too, for that matter), and while I may complain to Sandy about my knees, I will not stop. How could I?

Breakthroughs are being made every day, and treatments are getting more humane and effective. With your help, we'll beat this. It's not impossible. And that brings me to a closing quote from a great man.

Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion.
Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare.
Impossible is potential.
Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.
-- Muhammad Ali