Monday, September 13, 2004
The Second Century
Yesterday I rode my second 100 + mile ride.
This one was the NYC Century. For some reason, it seems that people can't measure well because this ride, like the last one, was 110 miles, not 100 (and it turned into 115 because of an error that on of my riding mates made; more about that below). However, since the weather was ideal and I felt very strong the extra mileage was no big deal.
Unlike last time, when I rode alone, I was in a group of 8 colleagues from my firm (including my boss and our primary outside counsel). The other seven have riden together many times but this was my first time with them. I was easily able to hold my own with this testosterone laden group. This may augur well for my bonus.
For the most part, it was a fun ride. We started in the north of Central Park, went down Fifth Avenue and Broadway until we reached the Brooklyn Bridge. We rode almost 50 miles in Brooklyn (including Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and the wonderful Prospect Park) until we reached the second rest stop. Until then, everything was flat and easy. All that changed in Queens.
But first, I took a nasty tumble on the bike path adjacent to the Belt Parkway. Part of the path was being fixed and we had to go on this tiny off road path. I fell in an area that was wet. I landed flush on my arm, just below the clavicle. I'm lucky I didn't break anything. It's still killing me (at least when the Advil wears off).
Queens was extremely hilly and challenging and we went through some lovely neighborhoods and lots of parks. One of the guys started cramping up in Flushing Park but was able to continue. We made it to the rest stop in Astoria Park, the 75 mile mark.
At that point it was either 7 miles back to Central Park or 31 through the Bronx. As my boss said, "If we weren't so macho, we would go back now". In this group, no one would dare suggest cutting short a century ride.
The ride over the Tri Boro Bridge into the Bronx was treacherous and nasty. We had to carry our bikes up and down three flights of stairs then go through an extremely narrow ramp. Brutal.
The ride in the Bronx also stunk. We had to stop for countless traffic lights and stop signs. We were weaving in and out of resdential streets. I don't understand why they needed that since we could easily have cut that stuff out and still made 100 miles.
We were only 8 miles from Central Park when one of our riders mistook an old street marker for a new one. He took us deep into Riverdale which added an extra 5 brutally hilly miles to our ride. Even though I felt strong I could have done without that.
We got back to Central Park, picked up our tee shirts and water bottles and made our way back to our cars.
I was famished and wiped. When I got home, I started eating anything that wasn't tied down. I had a huge dinner (unusual for me, especially on a Sunday evening) and went to bed at 9 p.m.
I woke up this morning with my arm killing me but otherwise fine. I have ridden over 300 miles in the past three weeks. This week will be a very soft week because of Rosh Hashanah but I have my third and final Century in Westchester on the day after Yom Kippur.
I am very ready for my ride in Israel.
This one was the NYC Century. For some reason, it seems that people can't measure well because this ride, like the last one, was 110 miles, not 100 (and it turned into 115 because of an error that on of my riding mates made; more about that below). However, since the weather was ideal and I felt very strong the extra mileage was no big deal.
Unlike last time, when I rode alone, I was in a group of 8 colleagues from my firm (including my boss and our primary outside counsel). The other seven have riden together many times but this was my first time with them. I was easily able to hold my own with this testosterone laden group. This may augur well for my bonus.
For the most part, it was a fun ride. We started in the north of Central Park, went down Fifth Avenue and Broadway until we reached the Brooklyn Bridge. We rode almost 50 miles in Brooklyn (including Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and the wonderful Prospect Park) until we reached the second rest stop. Until then, everything was flat and easy. All that changed in Queens.
But first, I took a nasty tumble on the bike path adjacent to the Belt Parkway. Part of the path was being fixed and we had to go on this tiny off road path. I fell in an area that was wet. I landed flush on my arm, just below the clavicle. I'm lucky I didn't break anything. It's still killing me (at least when the Advil wears off).
Queens was extremely hilly and challenging and we went through some lovely neighborhoods and lots of parks. One of the guys started cramping up in Flushing Park but was able to continue. We made it to the rest stop in Astoria Park, the 75 mile mark.
At that point it was either 7 miles back to Central Park or 31 through the Bronx. As my boss said, "If we weren't so macho, we would go back now". In this group, no one would dare suggest cutting short a century ride.
The ride over the Tri Boro Bridge into the Bronx was treacherous and nasty. We had to carry our bikes up and down three flights of stairs then go through an extremely narrow ramp. Brutal.
The ride in the Bronx also stunk. We had to stop for countless traffic lights and stop signs. We were weaving in and out of resdential streets. I don't understand why they needed that since we could easily have cut that stuff out and still made 100 miles.
We were only 8 miles from Central Park when one of our riders mistook an old street marker for a new one. He took us deep into Riverdale which added an extra 5 brutally hilly miles to our ride. Even though I felt strong I could have done without that.
We got back to Central Park, picked up our tee shirts and water bottles and made our way back to our cars.
I was famished and wiped. When I got home, I started eating anything that wasn't tied down. I had a huge dinner (unusual for me, especially on a Sunday evening) and went to bed at 9 p.m.
I woke up this morning with my arm killing me but otherwise fine. I have ridden over 300 miles in the past three weeks. This week will be a very soft week because of Rosh Hashanah but I have my third and final Century in Westchester on the day after Yom Kippur.
I am very ready for my ride in Israel.
