Getting Up to Speed in Cycling Season 2014

Welcome to cycling season 2014!
Although, for a lot of us, cycling season 2013 never really ended...

I never mentioned it here, but I moved to Wilkes-Barre in October and was enjoying a much shorter commute. Going to work was almost completely uphill along Route 309 into Mountain Top and would take me about 45 minutes to complete. Of course, that meant that the commute home was all downhill, taking me about 15 minutes from start to finish. It was great; I'd get a nice workout in the morning and a fun ride home.

My coldest commute was 18 degrees Fahrenheit in mid November, which still seemed warm compared to most of the days that followed, but that's not what stopped me from commuting. As the daylight got shorter and the clock got set back for daylight savings, it became treacherous to ride with the amount of traffic coming from the various on and off ramps along my route. Then came the snow and ice, the frigid temperatures... I kept riding throughout December and January, but I just couldn't keep up the commute. And then I got sick...

I was waylaid in late February by a bad flu and spent a few days in bed. Following that was a terrible, terrible back spasm that gripped my sacroiliac and made it impossible to walk for almost 2 weeks. It was so bad that I was worried I might have some serious damage and not be able to ride again, but my chiropractor checked me out and said I should be ok. It was a very scary time for me, as I shuffled along, hunched over in pain for the rest of the month. I'm still getting a lot of pain when I stretch my legs in certain positions, but I'm working on it, slowly bringing myself back to 100%

While it seems that pain may be a constant companion as I get older, I'm doing my best to get back in the saddle and get back up to speed. I didn't sign up for 30 Days of Riding this year because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to take part, but I've been hitting every day, so far -- even if it means riding on the trainer. From doing short sprints around the neighborhood to happily riding along my favorite Rails to Trails, I've been getting myself in shape for the Spencer Martin Memorial Ride in May. I'm happy to say that my friend +Michelle Hryvnak Davies will also be volunteering for traffic control, again. Can you believe it's been a whole year?

Speaking of Rails to Trails, I was really hoping to see the bridge on the Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails open this year. As of this writing, here's what the bridge currently looks like:

It's coming along nicely since I first saw it last year, but it's far from done. Looks like they just need to finish the deck and clean up the surrounding areas, but I'm not sure when it will be done.

Note that they added a nice fence running along the ramp up to the bridge and are fencing in the areas along the sides that run into the train tracks (tracks that are still, very much, being used. So be careful if you go exploring down there!)

I can't help but be tempted to hooft it across the small creek/marsh/whatever on the other side of the tracks and see how much farther the trail actually goes, but I'm patient enough to wait and see when it's finished. Eventually, it's supposed to run all the way to Eckley Miners' village, but that's a post for another day. At any rate, get on your bike and ride.

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New Connector Links Up Pine Creek Rail Trail and Downtown Jersey Shore

Here's some great news for cyclists and hikers in Jersey Shore (no, not that Jersey Shore, the one in Pennsylvania!)

WNEP's Jim Hamill has the skinny:

Image source: WNEP 

Thousands of people use the Pine Creek Rail Trail in Lycoming County every year. Now the trail is connected to downtown Jersey Shore. 

The community is banking on the rail-trail connector to bring tourists into the downtown.

The hope is the more tourists, the more need for small businesses where bikers, hikers and the like can eat and shop and stay.

The connector looks to be a 1.5 mile paved strip that runs from downtown to the trail itself. I've never been on the Pine Creek Rail Trail, but according to TrailLink.com:

...the Pine Creek Trail in Pine Creek Gorge offers travelers a spectacular 62-mile journey through the area commonly referred to as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. With numerous trailheads, comfort stations, campgrounds and small towns along the route, the well-maintained trail is ideal for an afternoon excursion or a longer trek. The trail is crushed limestone but is suitable for most bike tires.

62 miles of well-maintained trail? I would love to go banging down that! Sounds like the perfect opportunity for someone who wants to ride a 100K without going in circles and dodging cars. Also sounds like a great place to set up a bike shop/bike rental fleet.

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Another Perfect Day

This is where I ate my sammich today. Jealous?

Much like Friday, today was another perfect day for a ride. As such, I decided to push it a little harder than usual.

First of all, if I'm going to go, I'm going to go hard. Otherwise, what would be the point? Even if I were going on a leisurely ride, it would be a hardcore leisurely. Why? Because I have other things I could be doing, like cleaning out my DVR by getting caught up on Honey Boo Boo episodes. I'm not out here to waste time. It's not fair to drivers who have to go around me, and it's not fair to myself for skipping work. Besides, I mean, Honey Boo Boo. With that much motivation-crippling distraction available at my fingertips, of course I'm going to stay in the saddle as long as possible. Sometimes, you have to save yourself from yourself. I think Dr. Drew said that once, I'm not sure.

So, results time. Just how hard did I actually push it? According to the computer, I travelled 42.7 miles for a total trip time of 3 hours and 37 minutes at an average of 11.8 mph. I like that number. I like it a lot. I like it especially because my trip on Friday took 3 hours and 32 minutes to travel 40.6 miles. That's an average of 11.4 mph. In other words, I rode farther and faster today (following the same route, plus a few extra miles on the gorge trail) than I did on Friday. That makes me happy -- much happier than I would have been sitting at home, watching Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

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Challenging Myself

Well, if I was looking for a challenge, I certainly found one. Today's route took me up Diamond Avenue to the Stockton Mountain Road. I turned left off Stockton Mtn. Rd. and onto the Rails to Trails, following it as far as I could go.

From what I saw on Google Maps, Rails to Trails eventually becomes the Club 40 road (aka Co Rd 42, aka the infamous Beryllium Road), but I've never gone the whole way before, so I was eager to see what the trail is like past the gate.

Easily, the most fun I had was riding on the Rails to Trails -- no cars, no potholes, no problem. However, you ever get that feeling, when you're all alone, that you're not really alone? As I rode past the Dreck Creek Reservoir, I started to get that feeling. Instinctively, I started riding a little faster, just in case someone was coming up behind me. A little faster, and a little faster still. Before I got into a full panic, I turned my head a little, just to see if anyone was there. Of course, it was just my imagination... until I realized that SOMEONE WAS THERE! I almost lost it, but I got the bike under control. "Hey, how's it going?" he said as he passed by.

I'm pretty sure I've seen him out there before, but what blew me away was how fast he was going. He must have more gears on his bike because he was pedaling about half as much as I was and I could barely keep up with him in my highest gear. Then again, maybe my thinner tires were biting into the ground more, building up more resistance while his wider, mountain bike tires were allowing him to ride over the surface of the loose gravel.

Eventually, I got to the gate where Rails to Trails technically ends. This is Beryllium Road, a paved roadway that runs from Stockton Mtn. Rd. and leads to a fenced off area that used be the old Kawecki-BerylCo beryllium factory. If you make a right at this gate, it takes you to the factory site (which has long-since been bulldozed and capped as a Super Fund site. All that remains are acres of empty land with some trees and brush growing on it.) I made a left.

As I passed through the gate, I saw the other rider turning around to head back. I immediately got the sense that I should have followed him. Maybe he knew something I didn't? Like, maybe there's a reason he doesn't ride on the paved road. Well, after riding on this "paved" road, I can certainly see why I might want to avoid it.

The pavement is beat to hell, just completely torn up -- it's almost as bad as most Hazleton roads, to be honest, but I digress. My skinny, 700c wheels were taking a pounding, the bike's suspension was definitely getting a workout, and every bone in my body was being rattled loose. This road sucked. And then, at the end of a long, painful climb, I reached the summit. Smooth, clean roadway. For whatever reason, this section of the road looks almost well kept and maintained. I seriously doubt it's being taken care of, as there's little reason to go back here, but it's definitely in good shape.

As I rode on, I could hear heavy machinery and get a view of the large strip mine operation going on back there. Eventually, I came to a gate that I couldn't ride through. I had to get off, pick up my bike and carry it around the narrow gap at the edge of the road. Welcome to Stockton Village.

I was now on Club 40 Road, at the intersection of Club 40 and Stockton Mountain Road. According to Google Maps, if I just follow this road, I'll wind up at Route 93, but now it was time to test that theory.

The traffic is very light on this road -- even compared to Stockton Mtn. Rd. -- but there's almost no shoulder, so if you get traffic coming both ways, things get very tight. Thankfully, I didn't encounter too many trucks or cars. As I continued, I had hoped I was right about this road leading to 93, but soon the "aroma" of the Kentucky Fried Chicken told me what I needed to know. It was taking me exactly where I expected it to.

From 93 to Cedar, and up Cedar (which becomes Seybert), I was nearly home. Just a few more miles to go, and that's pretty much where the adventure ends.

As I rode up my driveway, the odometer clicked over 12.845 miles. I said to myself, "There's my 20k. No problem." 20.6, to be more precise. The funny thing is, the MyFitnessPal app only asks for the amount of time you've been riding and the average speed. My average was a meager 8 mph (and that's with going nearly 30 mph on some downhill sections) over 87 minutes. The app takes no regard of the monster hills I had to climb, so I don't know how much attention I should pay to the 600+ calories it says I burned. There's a BMX/Mountain bike setting that doesn't ask for average speed, but that claims over 800 calories for the amount of time I was out there. That seems like a little too much, but my aching muscles are telling me it may be on the money. Either way, if it was a challenge I wanted, it was a challenge I got.

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