It is NOT uphill both ways!

The information from this blog series on the trips my father and I took to complete the 333-mile journey from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, PA, has been published in a book:

Instructions for purchase of the book in hardcover or via Kindle will be coming soon!

Trail etiquette...or LACK thereof

   Sue really wanted to put in some miles yesterday in preparation for a century we are doing in August, so she joined me for a ride into Philadelphia. The 50-mile out-and-back route was mostly on the Schuylkill Trail from just outside Phoenixville, but near Manayunk the trail is unpaved, so road cyclists take a detour on the streets, which include some hills that are quite challenging for the less experienced riders and some tight traffic situations within the Main Street shopping district in that part of the city (photo below).

   This on-road section of the ride used to be our least favorite, but we may be starting to change our minds with the lack of courtesy shown on the trail by joggers, walkers and, most surprisingly, by fellow cyclists. I know we are travelling faster than the average person getting in touch with nature out on his/her cruiser bike for the weekend, but we are very conscious of giving notice that we are “Passing” or “On your left”.

   However, it’s difficult these days to tell if someone is even listening to a warning, with people listening to music on earphones or, my personal favorite, having a conversation on the phone. The trails on the weekend are simply too congested to be in your own little world. I will only wear headphones on very isolated trails, where interaction with other cyclists, etc. is infrequent. The Schuylkill Trail also has the added danger of several road crossings that make earphone use unwise.

   If you don’t know by now, I HATE cell phones and vow never to use one unless it’s an emergency - if I’m not at home, I really don’t want anyone bothering me. I think that for most people, cell phone use is a convenience that has become an addiction; there is no reason to be talking on the phone if you are out exercising, unless you have collapsed from said exercise!

   There were numerous walkers who didn’t bother to acknowledge my voice when I came up behind them, and other than a couple of old folks, cell phone use was the primary reason. I lost my temper a few times when I saw someone riding by while on the phone or better yet, texting. Really, you must have a transplant donor trying to contact you with that new brain!

   I don’t want to leave out mentioning the people who just have a bad attitude towards cyclists. We were coming up behind a pack of people walking across the trail, and I yelled out to alert them. They didn’t move very much, and Sue repeated a warning, which was met with a whiny, “Okay, okay, we heard you the first time.” I generally refuse to respond to such comments, but I certainly thought, “Maybe if you had moved more than an inch we wouldn’t have thought you were deaf!”

   I must admit that parents have improved in their responsibility to watch out for their cycling kids and remind them not to swerve all over. If children are holding a reasonably steady line, sometimes sneaking quietly by them, instead of giving verbal warning, seems like a better strategy. God only knows what they’re going to do if I yell “On your left!” They usually just panic completely, but I imagine their little minds racing with “Whose left? Wait, which direction is left?”

   I only wish the parents would improve their action, such as the couple riding their mountain bikes side by side on a particularly narrow section nearing Boat House Row. Again, they didn’t budge a bit when we called out! We were then met by the new Scourge of the Schuylkill, the rental pedal car, with two grown men badly completing a U-turn right in the way of oncoming cyclists in both directions. I won’t share with you the words that Sue and I muttered, but remember that we are fluent in “French”.

   My all-time favorite trail etiquette story while riding the trail near the Art Museum could include people of any size, shape, sex or race, but to provide a perfect mental image, I will tell you that three wide-hipped black teen girls were walking side by side, with absolutely NO ROOM for us to pass by. I gave plenty of warning without any result, and then reworded my phrase, “Passing, please”.

   I slowed to a standing-on-the-pedals crawl and said, “Excuse me.”  One of the girls responded by turning slightly so that I could squeeze by. Understandably annoyed, I turned and said, “The trail is here to share, girls,” to which one lovely female answered, “SHUT UP! 

   I had no response – really, what do you say to that?

My personal TOUR

Saturday, July 6 - STAGE ONE:

My brother has always been a runner, although he'd be the first to say he'd rather have a soccer ball at his feet while doing it. Despite knee injuries and my occasional ribbing about how cycling would be a lower impact sport on his poor joints, Craig has even taken on the occasional marathon.
   After some recent knee flare ups he has taken to pedaling the roads, with a machine he admits is a bit too cumbersome. On Saturday I took one of my extra road bikes up to Bethlehem so that we could not only enjoy each other’s company on a ride, but also to give him an idea of how a really good road bike would improve his experience.
   Knowing that at this point clipless pedals would be an accident just waiting to happen, I removed my Look variety and put on a pair of platform pedals with toe clips that were just laying about the shop. I also pointed out the functions of the cycle computer, so that he could later brag about his stats with his buddies.
   Once I had explained the basic operation of the brake lever shifters, some call brifters, and provided some advice on the most efficient way to use them on hills, we took to the local playground lot for some practice. He shook his head the first few times, attempting to get the hang of which lever he would need to shift in order to go faster, versus the one he would need to make climbing hills more easy.
   These particular Shimano shifters on my Cannondale rotate the brake lever to change to bigger ring or cog size and have an underside paddle to release to smaller sizes. Once he gave me a confident, “Okay, let’s hit it!” we set off from his house downtown to the northeast, towards our old high school – fairly flat terrain over which to start.
   There is a small hill up to the junior/senior high complex, one that I always like to launch up, and I warned him about what I was going to do and that I would wait at the top. I do something similar when I'm on rides with Sue in our neighborhood, and she’s used to it as a trade off for my more relaxed pace when I accompany her on rides. I was not issuing Craig a challenge in any way, but he is a really good athlete and simply did not want to get dropped!
   Sure enough, at the top of the hill I turned around, and he was right on my wheel. I joked, “Now don’t let me see you breathe out of your mouth!”, but he’s in better shape than that.
   I noticed on some of the flats that he liked pushing gears in the big ring and I explained the benefits of spinning in the smaller ring to develop leg speed and also cadence, so that you aren't rotating the pedals at different tempos for uphills and downhills. I also told him to feel free to blow by me if he wanted to “stretch his legs”, but to be sure to give notice, in case I swerve for a pothole or, more likely out in the farmlands, roadkill.

   Shortly afterward we hit a nice long flat without much traffic. “Alright, let’s go,” he said as he pulled up alongside, doing about 25 mph – in the big ring. I cruised a distance behind him (No wheelsucking allowed!), spinning in the smaller ring with a pretty good idea of what was coming up ahead on our route.
   The next left-hand turn sent the road directly into a short, steep highway overpass and continued on a gradual climb for about a half mile. I thought I was holding a reasonably moderate pace, and throughout the ride I was regularly checking Craig’s proximity, but I kind of zoned out in my effort up the hill. I felt bad that I had left him back about 100 yards! “Well, I paid for that little sprint,” he said as he came puffing back to me.
   We then headed into the westward leg of the loop, about three miles of which were simply BRUTAL! The temp was nearing the mid-90s and there was a steady breeze that gave absolutely no relief – convection oven became our catch phrase of the day.
   The last few miles, except for one more short, steep climb, were flat or slightly downhill, which probably felt even better knowing some A.C. and a cold drink were waiting for us! Craig immediately asked what route we were doing next ride, which made me feel great. We spent the time winding down with conversations about many topics, but several centered on cycling, and the opportunity to find him a decent road bike. All right – a convert!


Sunday, July 7 - STAGE TWO:

   A couple of years ago my wife and I had done this ride from Ft. Lee, NJ, across the George Washington Bridge, three laps around Central Park, down to Battery Park and back, but it was about ten degrees cooler. It is not a flat ride, with the Park loop being surprisingly hilly, and the final 230-foot climb back up to the bridge from the river level is just plain NASTY.
   Although I don’t regularly ride this far, I would not consider this among the most challenging routes I do, but the heat more than made up for it. By the time I returned to my car, I had gone through the original two bottles of water and five other refills! I had another bottle and a can of Dr. Pepper that were waiting for me on ice in a cooler, and then I stopped at a local 7-Eleven and had a large piña colada Slurpee.
   Other than an incredibly annoying flat tire during my first lap at the park, the ride was rather uneventful, although a parent at a lawn party almost chased his kids directly across the trail into my path. I enjoyed riding down Riverside Drive, all the way from 165th Street down to my access point to the Park at 100th. It was so empty of traffic, I think I was passed by maybe four cars the whole way!
   The Hudson Trail is a fantastic place to ride, not only because it is very nicely designed, but also because the views of the river and high-rises are wonderful. The trail was a bit more congested with weekend crowds, but that may have been a blessing because it kept my speed down and prevented me from really blowing up!
   The funniest part of the ride was pedaling behind another cyclist who was really struggling up the steep trail to the G.W. Bridge. When she decided to quit and walk the rest of the way, I grinded by slowly and muttered, “They need an elevator for cyclists.” From around a curve below someone yelled, “You got that right!”

 

  

Project Completed...Finally

   I took a little break from writing while I was with my family down at the shore. I’m not sure I enjoy the flatland riding there more than the hilly terrain at home because you are always pedaling, with no breaks for downhill coasting. Going at pretty much the same pace, other than a couple short, steep bridges over the inlets, is also a bit monotonous. It is fun blasting up the island with the wind at your back, going pretty much as fast as the speed limit allows!

   One little side job I took care of for myself was swapping the cool Campagnolo aero seatpost with the winged wheel logo that originally came on the Atala for a simpler version (first photo below) with a band logo – the fancier logoed (not a word, I bet) part was expensive. My Colnago had a modern Bontrager black carbon fiber post that just didn’t look right with the chrome-laden vintage frame, so I claimed the cool Campy part as my own (photos below). I’m hoping to make a little profit from reselling the carbon fiber post.

   My Regina CX freewheel arrived yesterday, and I spent the day putting the finishing touches on the Atala restoration. The freewheel came in its original box, with very little wear on any of the teeth (see photo below). I applied a little grease on the threads and screwed it on by hand – pedaling motion will lock it down tight, anyway.

   I slipped the wheel on then began threading the derailleur cables through the frame. Sinces it was in good shape, I had saved the short piece of cable housing that fit near the rear derailleur. I noticed that, unlike modern derailleurs, the vintage Campagnolo rear mechanism had a hole that fit the cable housing diameter (see red circled area in photo below), so I slipped off the back metal ferrule. The ferrule on the other end has a taper that slides into a braze-on ring on the right chainstay (green circled area).

   The adjustment screws on this vintage derailleur were somewhat simpler than modern parts in that you could see which screws limited the upper and lower movements, without having to get out a microscope to read the “L” or “H” that typically label the screws these days! A few turns of the screwdriver, and everything shifted smoothly. I did, however, have to tighten up the friction in the downtube levers (also replacement vintage parts) to hold the individual shifts in place.

   The front derailleur shifted smoothly the way it was set up, and I’m hoping the pre-stretched Campagnolo cables I bought will eliminate any needed adjustments for the bike’s future owner. I did a quick wipedown of all the parts to remove any greasy fingerprints, then washed up before putting on the new bar tape.

   This was really a fun project, and I learned a ton of new information about Campagnolo parts and their history. I have a couple new projects in mind, including another possible restoration/resale-type job on a Colnago and the search for a carbon fiber bike for my neighbor. We’re contemplating an alternative purchase of a frame and building it up with selected components to save money – trying to bring it in around $1000.

   I’m also trying to get my brother into cycling and will be taking one of my own bikes up to Bethlehem for him to try out this weekend. He’s been riding a hybrid bike that is proving a bit cumbersome for his liking – I sense his need for speed! We’ll do 20 miles or so together, and I hope he catches “the bug”.

   Dad and I also have a future return to the GAP Trail planned, in order to complete the western end into Pittsburgh, so stay tuned!