[ Board Log ]  [ Rock Log ]  [ Urban Log ]  [ Mountain Log ]  [ Road Log ]  [ Tandem Log ] Pages: « 1 » Date Name Miles AVG. MPH Time Comments 05/02/10 Lighthouse 7.23 11.3 0:38 This was our second ride today. We planned to ride to the lighthouse and go on the tour. We’ve been to the lighthouse many times, but we’ve never gone inside. There’s always something that keeps it from happening. So this was gonna be the year we saw the lighthouse. NOT. We arrived at the lighthouse at 18:30. It closed at 17:00. No lighthouse for us. We’ll make it happen next year. The skeeters were attacking me. They usually go for D, but for some reason, they were leaving her alone and going after me. Although I didn’t sustain any bites, I did eat at least one while we were riding the bike. We spotted several really large birds on this ride. We found out they were ospreys. They’re graceful fliers. As we headed down Sunset Blvd. we stopped at Kohr Bros. and enjoyed our dessert before our dinner. We had the soft peanut butter and chocolate swirl. It was pretty tasty. The only other thing to say is that I need to do something about D’s seat on the bike. It keeps slipping and falling into a painful position when we hit bumps. What’s wrong with that seat? At least we got another ride in. Odometer = 330.8 05/02/10 Sunset Beach 10.35 10.2 1:00 We started out in the “state” streets where all the people with more money live. We enjoy looking at the houses and saying whether or not we like them. D has issues with houses that do not have authentic architecture or lack complimentary color schemes. Next we headed down Beach Ave. We dipped into a couple of the older neighborhoods, and then we ended up on Sunset Drive. We passed Tea By the Sea, but we did not go in, because we already had lots of tea. We headed right to our destination – Sunset Beach. We shopped at Marvin’s for some rocks and rock related merchandise. Then we locked the bike up and sat on the beach. I had some studying to do because there’s an exam coming up right after we return home. So D took a walk on the beach while I did some studying. Then she came back and quizzed me. I’m smarticle. Afterward, we sat on the beach for quite a while enjoying the beautiful weather and the sound of the ocean. D made a quick trip into the gift shop to look for something special for Lys. We quickly rode back to the Dormer House because there apparently is not a bathroom at Sunset Beach. Odometer = 323.6 05/01/10 By the Sea 5.91 9.1 0:39 First ride in Cape May. First, we adjusted D’s seat, which had loosened up and shifted on her last time we rode. We got it set in a good position for her and took off. But we had to make a short stop so she could adjust her shorts. Then we were ready to roll. We headed away from the beach since we planned to take a walk down to the beach after the ride. We wanted to see the other side of town. We rolled through some of the “state” streets and then headed down Washington. We spun through a couple of circles before making our way down some barren roads that eventually lead to one of the main drags. Then we headed back toward the beach area. D noticed we were passing her favorite tea shop, Tea By the Sea, and we made an unscheduled stop. I stayed outside with the bike for about a half an hour, while D went in and checked out the tea selection. She got some black tea, decaf tea, and fruity teas (for iced tea). She came out of the shop with a rather large bag, but it was very light, so she was able to carry it while we rode back to the Dormer House. Odometer = 313.2 04/03/10 Louise Moore 14.93 12.3 1:13 Me and DD took our first ride for the season. It was another beautiful Easter weekend day. We just took a short ride since we didn’t have alota time for a long ride. But it was nice to get out and get the tandem rolling again for the start of the season. Hopefully we’ll become tandem biking enthusiasts this season. We rode out to that Louise Moore park for a snack break and then rode back home. Made a quick stop at Wawa too before we got back to the house. Odometer = 307.3 10/04/09 Bike MS: C2S 79.13 14.2 5:33 We kicked the day off with a solid breakfast of pancakes, sausage, muffins, juice and tea (for D). Steve & Emma took off with us, but they soon encountered more mechanical problems: another flat, and a stem issue. We didn’t see them again until the lunch stop. They were on the SAG wagon. By then, they were done. We stopped at every rest stop and even once in someone’s driveway due to D’s intense butt cramp. Thankfully that was short lived thanks to Advil liqui-gels and Cramp 911. When we took off, it was really foggy. The fog was so thick that I had drops of water in my beard and my glasses got all wet. D’s rearview mirror was dripping. After it cleared, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. There were fewer riders on the road, and we were able to go faster. That’s typical for day 2. We rode pretty strong for most of the day, but D got a little beat at the very end. Thankfully, a chicken sandwich gave her an extra boost. D “really” enjoyed all the snacks on the tour. She also liked seeing all the different jerseys that people wore. Many things reminded her of snacks. I think she must have been working really hard, so she was pretty hungry. Another funny thing she did was calculate the percentage of the ride that we had completed, and she compared it to how much of the “pie” was complete. I think she wants to eat pie now. We had a number of drafters, who commented on how easy it was to ride behind our bike. In past years, I remember enjoying riding behind tandems myself. D’s rearview mirror helped us to know when there were drafters behind us. At the end of the ride, it seemed that there were lots of bumps in the road. They were a bit painful because D felt pretty sore. She had to stand to avoid the impact. I had to announce the bumps well in advance so she could avoid being hurt. As always, there are lots of volunteers and police officers who direct traffic and cheer you on as you go by. That makes the ride much easier. We eventually finished, and D was really happy that she completed the ride. I knew she could do it. We enjoyed the pizza party at the end. It was a great tour. I was happy to have a riding buddy. D and I raised $1,330 this year for the National MS Society. We thank our sponsors! Odometer = 292.3 10/03/09 Bike MS: C2S 78.61 13.3 5:53 I had some ailments going into the tour this year: a wicked cold and a pulled muscle in my back. Fortunately, I pretty much got back to being healthy before the first day. We got a late start in the morning. It was the first time that D and I did the ride together on our tandem bike. There was also some possible bad weather, so we had to decide what to wear and how to protect ourselves from possible thunderstorms. We saw quite a few lightning flickers in the sky while we were on the turnpike. D was a little nervous about this. Steve & Emma got to EDS before we did. When we got to the Patco Station, we had some last minute paperwork to take care of. We had to get our numbers and complete our safety wavers. We missed the team photo as well as the team start. But we were only 5 minutes later than the planned start time, so that wasn’t too bad. We spent most of the day in the packs of people. D never saw so many bikers on the road. The packs contain a mix of riders with different abilities, so it was slow going. It just wasn’t safe to pass some of these inexperienced riders. We made 3 stops. I almost dropped D at an unplanned stop. I didn’t realize she was still clipped into the bike, but I caught her. We didn’t have any more problems like that for the rest of the ride. On the other hand, Steve had 2 flats. They arrived at the beach a little before us. D got a rear-view mirror for her helmet. It took her a little while to get used to it, but then she became a valuable asset to the tandem team. We developed a good system for checking traffic before passing other riders. When we arrived at the beach, we had hot dogs, pierogies, duetto snack cups, a soft pretzel, and a tasty beverage called krank’d. We saw this huge kite that was in the shape of a cat. It was grey with white boots, belly, and a white tip on its tail. We called it the “mayzie kite” because it looked just like her. As quickly as we saw it, it was gone. I guess it was taking a nap like Mayzie. We had the traditional spaghetti dinner with Steve, Emma, and Emma’s friend. Then we all enjoyed some Kohr Bros. soft serve that was very melty. They wouldn’t dip my cup, although the Kohr Bros. in Cape May and Ocean City, MD have done that for me. D had mint ice cream with chocolate dip. She said it tasted like an Andes Cream de Menthe candy. We went to bed pretty early because we wanted to make sure we were ready to get up at 5. Even though we had the AC on, our room was warm for most of the night. D had a shower of many temperatures. Some of the highlights of our first day included: the spook house complete with a guy dressed as a pirate cheering us on; the peace and love rest stop where all the volunteers wore tie dye; the grahamwich snacks; the tiki guy who dresses like a voodoo dude and waves you into the rest stop; the many “tandem” and “nice bike” shoutouts we received; the buttbag that protected D from getting all spashed up by the rain; and getting our bike into our hotel room. The lowlight of the day was the frequent “joke” made by many other riders. People kept asking if I knew that D wasn’t pedaling behind me. I knew she was pedaling and that they were joking, but they probably wouldn’t say that if a dude was the stoker. One last lowlight was the downpour that started just as we thought it wasn’t going to rain on us at all. It poured and we got pretty wet. We learned a great trick – newspaper in your shoes at night will absorb all the water. That came in handy. Odometer = 212.5 09/05/09 Patrick's Route 25.35 12.2 2:04 We actually crossed paths with Patrick while heading out on his route. He and a group of our teammates were coming in the opposite direction on the L Route. But by that time we actually changed our minds and decided to do a shorter route due to the fact that we wanted to get to brother Dan's picnic at a decent hour. We got a good ride in though. We pulled out a stronger performance. I was on call today and Jose actually called me while we were stopped at a little park on the side of the road. I assisted him and then we rode on. It was a really nice day. Not too hot. Just right. Odometer = 133.4 08/08/09 Patrick's Route 32.48 11.1 2:54 We broke a hundred miles on the new bike today. I chose a hilly route for us out southwest. We started out with the idea of doing this 50 mile route that Patrick Kincaid taught me but we decided to turn around after about 17 miles and just backtrack. It was a beautiful day for a ride. It was in the 80’s but it wasn’t humid so when we were speeding down hills it was nice and cool. Chugging up the hills wasn’t so cool but we got better at it as a team with each hill that we climbed. Like, the first hill was one of the biggest and it nearly drained all I had in me for a moment so we had to pull over so that I could start to breath again. I think that we rode pretty well considering that we haven’t done any road riding this summer. D wants to make sure that she will be able to handle the Bike MS tour in October. After today we’re both pretty sure that she’ll be able to handle it. We climbed up 30 miles of hills. It was alota hills. And all the peanut butter sandwiches in the world won’t ever make that kinda ride any easier. Odometer = 107.9 05/03/09 East Side 4.51 8.8 0:31 After snack time we decided to take another ride to see more of the east side of town. We cycled through all of the "state" streets. There's alota new, bigger houses over there. It was raining pretty steady the whole time so we didn't stay out long. We're getting really good at tandem cycling. I almost feel as if I'm riding a single road bike now. We work together well on the bike. And OFF the bike as well for that matter. Odometer = 75.0 05/03/09 Pavilion 6.49 8.1 0:48 We rode down to the pavilion so D could collect stones on the beach. Then we circled through some more of the west end to see some more houses. Then we went back for snack time. Odometer = 70.4 05/02/09 Between Showers 4.61 8.6 0:32 After snack time the sun started to break through so we decided to hop on the bike before dinner and take a cruise through the town. We stopped at a Tea shop which was closed but the owner let a couple of window shoppers in the door so D practically jumped off the bike to slip into the shop for a look. That was on the West side of town so we took a scenic ride through to see some of the houses in that area that we've never seen before. Cape May is all about the beautiful Victorian style houses. Then we ripped down Beach Ave. Odometer = 63.9 05/02/09 The Harbor 8.19 9.3 0:53 We kinda hovered around the Harbor. We rode past the Nature Center (which was kinda lame looking... kinda just looked like a house from the outside). Then we rode up to the gate at the Coast Guard. Next we rode to the Fisherman's Wharf on the other side of the Harbor. It drizzled on and off during our ride. D woulda took some pictures if it weren't for the rain. Then we rode to a store called Bath Time to search for a bath pillow but they didn't have any in stock. I ate a peanut butter cookie and then it really started to pour so we headed back to the house. Odometer = 59.3 05/01/09 Sunset Beach 6.30 11.3 0:33 First ride in Cape May. It rained pretty hard for a while so we waited. Then we tried to go out again and it started raining hard again. So we waited. We finally took off and headed out to Sunset Beach down the boulevard. It sprinkled on us a bit but by the time we got to the beach the sun broke through and we also caught a glimpse of a nice rainbow. We also met a nice, 88 year old gentlemen named Marvin (like the martian) who runs a fossil shop. He told us that he used to be an engineer for the government. He claimed to have seen alien technology firsthand. Pretty interesting. What was even more interesting is that he seemed pretty sane about it. He wasn't puttin' us on. My girl's a believer. I believe in the probability of life on other planets. I just don't believe that they've visited us. Marvin said that it doesn't matter if I believe it or not. It's irrelevant. And it's okay. Odometer = 51.1 04/04/09 Bethlehem 18.70 11.0 1:41 At the start of the ride we hit a small pothole and D's seat shifted so we had to stop to adjust and tighten that up. That's the second thing that we found that wasn't tightened well on the bike since we got it. We found that my seat post was loose the second time we rode the bike. So today was an extremely windy day. Pooh Bear woulda said that it was blustery. We took a similar route out to Louise Moore Park and back. We stopped at that housing development again to take a closer look at that house that we like. It was empty so that means that maybe we could buy it. We were gonna do 30 miles today but we cut it short 'cause it was getting dark and the wind was killin' us. It was good practice for the MS tour though 'cause sometimes you get hit with gale force winds during the tour weekend. Odometer = 44.8 03/21/09 Bethlehem 20.04 12.6 1:35 We initially planned to do a 15 mile ride but we kinda let ourselves get lost a little so we rode longer. We rode through this housing development full of houses that we could never afford in a million years. We picked one out that we both liked. We talked about hitting this park called Louise Moore Park but we weren't even sure where it was. But then we found it anyway and stopped to have a snack. It's still a bit chilly out yet. I didn't have any clean biking shorts this weekend so I rode in civilian gear. NOT a good idea. I'll never do that again. Chafing is no good. Overall it was a fun ride. I'm getting used to not feeling or hearing the shifting process as well since it's further back. That's kinda weird for me yet. I'm used to having the shifting right below my feet. It's normally part of the process for me to feel and hear that. It helps me get in the right gear. I'll get used to how it is on the tandem though. It's just something new. Odometer = 26.1 03/14/09 Bethlehem 5.74 10.3 0:33 First ride on the new bike. We had to make a few adjustments before takeoff. D is still working on clipping in but I hold the bike up while she's mounting so she has all the time she needs to get set. We actually saw another couple on a tandem bike ride past the driveway before we left. That was a trip. So during the ride we were working on our verbal queues and such to communicate our actions while riding such as when we need to coast, stop or take a drink. We worked on making slow circles in a parking lot. We didn't open it up yet. We need time to get used to the feel of this type of bike. Relationship barometer... thumbs up! Lis says HI! Odometer = 6.0     Miles AVG. MPH Time     Totals: 328.57 12.4 27:00

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