Preparing Myself

          Well I'm not doing anything really special or out of the ordinary to prepare myself, and I'm probably not doing as much as I should either.  One thing I started doing was push-ups.  I'm trying to commit to doing push-ups everyday and trying to do them first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening.  I've done pretty good so far.  Sometimes I'll even throw in a set of sit-ups.  On a few Saturday mornings I have joined my wife in our exercise room either using the treadmill or exercise bike.
          I am also trying to get out on bike rides as much as possible, although this has been very difficult due to the weather in west-central PA as well as my commitments.  It's almost impossible for me to get out riding during the week, but there is a slight chance for a short ride on Wednesday evenings.  I do live very close to the Ghost Town Trail rail-trail which is very convenient.  I started riding from Nanty Glo to Ebensburg (eastern end of the trail) which is 15.4 miles round trip.  That's a nice ride because it's upslope to begin, and downslope coming back.  (We're only talking like 1 to 1 1/2% slope, but that's enough slope that my average speed going out is only 11mph, whereas my average speed coming back is about 18mph.  You can really feel the difference.)  Here's a photo of The Ghost Town Trail between Nanty Glo & Ebensburg:

          Two Sundays ago I decided to ride westward instead to Dilltown.  It was 19.8 miles round trip, and felt like a good balance of upslope and downslope each way (except for the stretch coming east from Vintondale to Nanty Glo - it looks flat, but feels like you're climbing Mt. Everest!).  That day was really dreary and overcast and I took a chance that the rain would hold out.  I did get sprinkled on a few times and then near the tail end of my trip it started drizzling steady (oh well, it was good training for the real ride, right?).  I got a good test of the bike's fenders which did keep me dry.  On my way back from Dilltown I saw 3 doe jump off the trail and just stand in the woods to the side of the trail (in plain view).  It was as if they were posing for my camera.  Here's a photo of them:

          I know it's tough to see them in the photo.  The one to the left is looking straight into the camera.  Here's another photo showing a small stream flowing toward the trail (located between Twin Rocks & Vintondale):

          There are a lot of small streams like the one shown above along the trail, especially in the area between Twin Rocks & Vintondale.  One last photo.  It seems that I can never escape surveying!  I was riding the trail approaching Dilltown and noticed stakes and capped rebars along the side of the trail.  Being a surveyor you know I had to stop and check them out.  They were set to mark some sort of right-of-way.  One thing I just can't understand is why in the world someone would leave those capped rebars sticking up so high in a field or lawn like this!  You know they are going to end up getting hit!

         Wednesday last week I managed to get out for a short ride, so I decided to ride from my house uphill on Ford's Corner Road to the top of the ridge (one hell of a workout) and back downhill to the house.  Well I had good intentions!  Turns out after 6 tenths of a mile I had to pull off the side of the road and rest.  Most of the climb had been 6% slope with the last stretch being 10.5% (I checked the slopes next day at the office.)!  It took me 15 minutes to climb that 6 tenths of a mile and then I rested for about 20 minutes.  I was completely exhausted and even started getting dizzy.  I felt awful!  I never did make it to the top of the ridge; I just returned home.  I had climbed about 280 feet in elevation from the house and that was enough for one day!  On the way home I had no trouble coasting at over 25mph.  Riding that fast on PA roads is also a horrible experience because you feel like you could easily lose control on loose gravel or cracks in the road!  (My speed record by the way is 46mph on Flag Marsh Road between my hometown of Woodbine, MD and Mt. Airy, MD set when I was probably about 16.  I don't remember feeling scared at that speed back then.) 
          Well there you have it folks.  The end of another blog entry.  I think the next entry I'll title "Preparing My Phone" (yes, you read that correctly - stay tuned if you're confused . . . well even if you're not). 

-Garry

Preparing the Bike

          The bike itself is in pretty good shape.  It's always been kept indoors.  Here is a photo from a few weeks ago:

            As stated previously, Phil and I rode The Ghost Town Trail last October.  In preparation for that ride I replaced the front tire with a  Panaracer Pasela- the knobbiest tire to fit my bike that I could find at the time and also had the bike checked out and tuned up by Dave Roberts (used to own and operate Trailside Bicycle in Vintondale, PA).
           The Ghost Town Trail ride was just a simple one day ride carrying almost no baggage, so the preparation of the bike for this upcoming ride has to be a little more thorough and focused on being able to carry the baggage.  I have decided to stick with my existing rear rack which was an el cheapo discount store rack which held up fine on my first trip on the C & O canal.  I did get new hardware (highest grade nuts and bolts available at Lowes) and double-nutted the racks top mount.  I have also JB Weld'd the hinge point where the rear supports attach to the rack (by rivets) just for some added assurance.  Even though this is an el cheapo rack, I've found similar ones listed online (probably the exact same rack) and believe I even saw it rated to carry up to 50lbs (which is hard to believe when looking at what other better looking racks are rated).  Here is a photo showing the rear rack (prior to the JB Weld and prior to my new rear tire):

            You'll also notice in the photo that I have fenders front & rear.  These were a recent addition and were really a pain to mount.  I also added a new rear reflector, since I apparently lost the original.  Since this is a touring bike, I have three water bottle mounts.  That front fender comes very close to the water bottle.  I also bought rear panniers (bags that mount on the left and right of the rack for those that don't know the term).  I shopped around and settled on these Nashbar ATB rear panniers which I like.  I feel they were the best for the price.  They are not waterproof, but should be highly water resistent, especially after being treated with silicone spray.  I still need to test ride with them mounted.  I'll just throw some weight in them (random items) and ride The Ghost Town Trail.  I'll probably get some looks since that's not a trail to ride multi-day and pack much gear. On the top of the rack I'll use my old duffel bag (same bag I used on my first ride).  I bought some "dry bags", one for the duffel bag, and another for the sleeping bag.  It was cheaper to do this than buy a waterproof duffel bag. 
            I almost forgot.  I replaced the seat last Fall with a Sunlite Cloud 9 gel seat.  I really like this seat!  My old original seat didn't have any gel, and had been bent (the mounting rails underneath).  
            I just got a really nice knobby rear tire for my bike - the Tioga Bloodhound.  This was one of the knobbiest tires I could find for a 27" narrow rim.  I actually moved up in width from a 1 1/4" to a 1 3/8" tire.  I was concerned about the clearance between the frame (sides of the tire) and the fenders, but it clears fine!  Here is a photo of the tire itself:

          And a photo as mounted on the bike:

              Wish I'd have found this tire last fall for mounting on the front! 
 
              Before going on about the front of the bike, here is a photo for reference: 

            The front rack is new and is a basic Sunlite Gold Tec rack bought from Niagara Cycle (which I love buying from by the way).  It's rated to carry 40lbs and I intend to use it to carry my sleeping bag.  This was also very fun to mount since it didn't come with instructions and the mounting holes didn't line up for me.  I ended up drilling new holes in the bracket (the bracket can't really be seen in this photo).  I also moved the front reflector to the front of the rack (with a homemade bracket).  I replaced my old cruddy discount store handlebar bag with a decent inexpensive Sunlite bag which holds its shape much better. 

            Another thing I must mention is my flashlight headlight system.  We'll need a headlight for the few tunnels we'll go through as well as the unexpected night time riding (ie. someone gets a flat that holds us back and requires us to ride in the dark to get to our intended stop).  Gotta be prepared!  I got my idea for the mounting system which uses 2 conduit clamps mounted back to back here.  Here is a photo of my mount:

The bottom clamp goes around the handlebars and the flashlight slips through the top clamp.  The clamps are just a couple bucks from Lowes, another couple bucks for a little more hardware, and a couple bucks for 3/4" heatshrink to wrap the clamps in (worked out really nice!).  I've chosen to use the Lowes 3 watt LED flashlight mentioned in the previous link for a "highbeam" light and a Rayovac Sportsman Extreme light for "low beam" (directly in front of bike) light.  I've also picked up this inexpensive flashlight from www.dealextreme.com which is rated the same output as the Lowes light, but only runs on 3 AAA's instead of 2 C's (less bulky).  I also learned a lot about LED flashlights during this process and I tell you what - if you have never seen a high-powered LED flashlight, you MUST check them out!  The old style "standard bulb" flashlights are pretty much obsolete!  LED flashlights can blow away the standard bulbs in every aspect - brightness, runtime, and reliability (since they don't have a filament to break when dropped and last 50,000 to 100,000 hours).  The only real downside is that they throw a tight beam (spot) and don't have much side spill (flood). 
          This pretty much ends the preparation of the bike itelf.  I will have Dave check out and tune up the bike again just before leaving.  Here's a final photo showing the bike as it is now (photo taken Sunday April 10th at the Ebensburg end of The Ghost Town Trail):

            Stay tuned for my next blog entry: "Preparing Myself".

- Garry

Getting Back Into Cycling

          Well here I am starting to blog my bike trip.  Hopefully I can keep up with this blog!  Here we go:

          Let me start by saying that I haven't done much bike riding since I was about 18.  From 14 to 18 I did a lot of riding.  From 18 to about 21 I had a few occasional cycling stints.  After 21 I don't even remember ever getting on my bike!  I did mostly road riding with some occasional rails-to-trails type riding.  The C&O canal trail was a favorite and when I was 18 I rode the entire C&O from Cumberland, MD to Washington D.C. (ok, we stopped in Cabin John just short of D.C. - I was avoiding the D.C. congestion) with 3 other guys (1 dropped out after the first day due to bike problems).  That was approximately 178 miles we rode. 
          So here I am at age 35 starting to get back into cycling and planning to ride the "Great Allegheny Passage" and continue on the "C & O Canal" with Phil & Mark.  The Allegheny Passage's trailhead is still under construction.  The trail is complete northward to Duquesne at mile marker 135.  Construction is slated for completion on November 11th, 2011 (11/11/11).  Our trip is planned for Sunday May 22nd through Friday May 27th.  We tried to plan for weather that won't be too cold, nor too hot, and a time of year with fewer tourists and crowds (i.e. kids still in school).  Sunday will be getting everyone to the beginning and then just riding 13 miles to the first campground by sunset.  We then plan 4 days of solid cycling (at about 60 miles per day) and then the final day is about a half day of cycling into D.C. leaving the rest of that day for transport back home (the logistics are the hardest part of planning the trip!).  Total trip mileage of 319.5 miles. 
          Now this isn't the first time back on my bike.  Phil & I rode the Ghost Town Trail (which is located almost right outside my back door) back in October last year.  That trail was 36 miles and is a typical "rails-to-trails" type trail.   (My profile picture is from this trip.)  I started getting back into shape for that trip riding a few weeks to a month prior to that trip.  Then winter hit and cycling in western PA is almost unfeasible from November to April so I've only gotten one ride in this spring.
          For those wanting links for further information, here is the website for the Great Allegheny Passage.  Here is the website for the C&O Canal. 
          My next blog entry will be about preparing for the ride, especially my bike (a 1989 Schwinn Voyageur).  Stay tuned!