Happy New Year('s Eve)!

(Yes, I know, it's been months. I was wrong to leave, I'll never do it again, mea culpa, she meant nothing to me...)

After weeks of sub-freezing temperatures, the news that today's forecast included sun and highs in the fifties acted on my winter torpor much like a splash of vinegar acts on a pile of baking soda. Leaping into action, I put out the call to the locals...anyone wanna cap off the year with a nice Red Belt loop?

Dan G., Bill H., and Sean(sp?) answered the clarion call to arms. We congregated at the Jail Trail, then headed over towards Tarentum via Allegheny River Blvd and Freeport Rd. Sadly, I was to find that my oft-postponed drivetrain service had resulted in a state such that I could not really use the lower half of my cassette without disturbing grinding/sawing noises. In addition, the teeth on my chainrings are worn enough that, especially on the middle ring (AKA "the ring I use the most"), the chain has a disturbingly regular tendency to jump off and flail about wildly under load. Ah, well...I've had replacement cassette, chain, and compact crankset sitting in the basement for weeks...guess this means it's time to actually install them. That said, I spent the vast majority of my time in no more than three or four gear combinations; the Red Belt does not have that much variety in terms of terrain, as evidenced by Dan's ability to ride it fixed without visible sign of agony.

The first half of the ride was a bit discouraging, in the "why is the temperature dropping? why is it spitting rain?" sense. However, shortly after Sean had split off to return via North Park, the cloud cover lifted, and we had the delightful experience of being utterly drenched in sunshine for the remainder of the ride. We stopped at the bakery in Sewickley on the return leg, at which point I consumed a truly frightening number of calories in the form of a day-old danish and approximately 24 ounces of peanut butter bar. Thus laden, we decided to omit the delightful climbs through Sewickley Heights and up Mt Nebo, in favor of the traditional flatland return via Coraopolis/Neville Island and the McKees Rocks Bridge.

A very nice ride, all things considered. It's been quite a while since I rode the Red Belt...I think I'll make a point of incorporating it into more of my rides next year.

Dirty Dozen hills are more fun after a metric...

...That was the theory, anyway. The astute reader, possessing even the most cursory knowledge of Pittsburgh's Dirty Dozen, can probably guess how that turned out.

Myself, Scott, and Alan rode out from the Vault at the positively luxurious hour of 7:30 AM. We headed out along California through Bellevue, Avalon, and Emsworth (changing street names every three blocks or so), then picked up Rt 65 to Sewickley. I suppose we could have done the traditional route via McKees Rocks, Neville Island, and Coraopolis, but the McKees Rocks Bridge is closing in a few days anyway, so we might as well get used to alternate routes to that part of the world.

In Ambridge, we picked up the Red Belt and pushed our way out to Tarentum, then back towards town via Freeport Rd. Nice ride; average speed over 17 mph for the first 60 miles, which is a darn good pace for me (I tend more towards the "let's do 14-15 for the next 200 miles" school of ride pacing.) In Aspinwall, we hung the ralph on Center. I rapidly discovered that, yes Virginia, riding a spirited 65 miles first makes Center hurt a Whole Lot Worse than usual. I took it with my usual utter lack of aplomb, dropping into my bottom gear and creeping up the hill in nicely gastropodial (sic?) fashion. The usual *ahem* rollers *ahem* on the way to the plummet into Sharpsburg were also a bit painful...

In Sharpsburg, we paused to rehydrate at the Quicky-Mart clone on 4th. We ended up spending a few minutes assisting a gentleman named Dean, whose mountain bike was decidedly squishy in the rear-tire regions. Dean lacked tools and expertise, so we took the opportunity to dispense patch kits and tire-changing wisdom in roughly equal measure. Then, off to Ravine for another joyous ascent. Scott and Alan rapidly became dots on the hill in my star-spangled peripheral vision; I, on the other hand, decided to shoot for bare survival and a more *ahem* leisurely *ahem* cadence.

Appropriately enough, I chose to bury my plans for two more hills when I reached the cemetary at the top of the climb. It was hurting enough that, frankly, I doubted my ability to complete Berryhill and High without potentially doing damage to myself that would affect the impending 600K this coming weekend. Alan and Scott, strangely enough, didn't seem to mind the idea of skipping the last two hills in the least.

Scott set off for home; I took Alan down to at least see Berryhill and High, on the way back to town to meet the family for the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

Lefever Hill

I played hooky today.

Well, to be precise, I took my last accrued paid leave day, so I wouldn't have to deal with any weirdness in the final paycheck. My original intent was to work on my basement; heck, still is, but I just couldn't waste a gorgeous day like today.

Out Freeport, then up Little Deer Creek to Lefever Hill. Not the worst hill I've ever climbed, but it certainly left a mark. Picked up Rich Hill to Starr Rd, then back to Little Deer Creek and up to the Red Belt. Rich Hill and Starr are NICE...lots of fun rollers, and a good way to unwind the legs after the Lefever climb.

I had intended to head out to Ambridge for a test ride or two, as I'm eying a Cross Check or LHT as my winter commuting/errand bike; however, it turns out that their Web site is a wee bit outdated with respect to their hours of operation; i.e. they're closed on Wednesdays. Oops.

Ah well; can't call it a wasted day by any stretch of the imagination.

Arbitrary Meanderings, 09/01/2008

The route

I had intended to meet up with Scott and scout the 65-mile loop of the WPW Fall Rally route; however, due to the usual lack of planning and communication to which I seem to be prone, we never actually met up. So, I decided to take a spur-of-the-moment trip out to Tarentum, since I was already in North Park, so a mere hop+skip+jump up Pierce Mill to the Red Belt.

I'd forgotten what a nice ride the Red Belt from Saxonburg to Tarentum is; not flat, but no real hills, and very rural/low traffic. From there, I popped over to New Ken, then did the Coxcomb Hill climb for the first time this year; I'd also forgotten how nice a climb that is. After cresting the summit, I took unfamilar-to-me Hulton Rd, deciding that it was a nice day to get lost in the Penn Hills. Sadly, I managed to find my way to 380 in good order. ;-)

A quick run down 380 to Larimer, then up Washington/5th to Oakland, and the joyous pleasure of descending Neville/Boundary on fresh pavement. Over to REI to drop off some RBR business cards I'd promised Kim at the shop, then a cup of Goats coffee and a gut bomb of a quesadilla at Qdoba. After ingesting this grease-feast, I was chagrined to watch my average speed drop from 16.8 to 15.4 over the next ten miles on the way home. Chagrined, but, in hindsight, not very surprised.