joewein

Last Sunday I combined a 188 km mountain course with a social ride with two friends. I only posted the ride late on Saturday night and wasn't sure they could adjust their plans for us to ride together in the morning for the middle part of the course. Leaving home a little after 06:00 I headed across Tokyo to the Arakawa river.

On the way there an e-mail arrived from my friends and we agreed on meeting up at a train station 65 km from the start around 10:00, in a small town where I used to live a couple of years ago. From there it was an hour to the mountains. It was a beautiful day. Following a route designed by a friend of mine we encountered very little traffic as we passed through villages and farmland, stopping every now and then for pictures of particularly nice views, to talk or to have a banana. The roads being so empty we could easily ride side by side much of the time, so there was plenty of opportunity to chat.



At the first mountain valley we took a detour from the route to visit some waterfalls in the forest with a small temple nearby that only the locals know about (as I mentioned, I used to live around there). The sounds of the running water and the shade of the trees made us feel pleasantly cool. We resumed the route for the first climb of 3-4 km, which never got too steep. From there we followed the ups and downs of the ridge road to some noodle restaurants on the mountain where we had lunch. This being Golden Week (basically a 5 day weekend) both shops were busy, but we managed to get some soba noodles after not waiting too long. After a lunch with a great view we continued on the ridge road to the highest point of the course (800 m higher than where I started) with more views, then a looong descent. My friends decided to call it a day and head further downhill to a train station from around the 110 km mark, while I continued over a couple more mountain passes to Oume.

I arrived there half an hour after sunset, with the near full moon in the sky. A traditional Japanese festival (omatsuri) was still in full swing. I walked through the crowds past food stalls and ancient carts with mobile stages on which traditional dances were performed.



Once the crowds thinned again, I got back on my bike and rode the last 45 km back to Tokyo, where I arrived late at night.

With that ride I am now at 33 consecutive months of one century a month :-)

rhm

I got out for my May Century on Saturday. It was an absolutely gorgeous spring day, almost no wind, bright sun, all kinds of flowers and ornamental trees in full bloom, though also a lot of rude and inexperienced cyclists out on the roads.

The indigenous trees were just beginning to leaf out:


But the fields were as green as could be:






I rode my fixie, a mid 60's "road-path-racer" which is basically a track bike with road bike geometry, but still pretty rough on the hills. 110 miles, 7100 feet of climbing, almost eight hours of riding.

Lex Fati

I've kept up with my riding at least, if not my posting.

In April, I first tagged along down to central Illinois to ride the 300K with St Louis Randonneuring. The terrain there is flatter and more open than I am used to, and the wind seem to feel that much stronger than it actually was. Fortunately though, we didn't end up having to deal with any real adverse conditions.

A week later, I went to Minneapolis for the City Slickers 200K. This was a predominantly urban route and really showcased the Twin Cities area as a nice place to ride, though with 200K there was enough room to get outside of the city and cross over into Wisconsin briefly, also.

I got my minimum May ride in this last Saturday, also, with the Great Lakes Randonners' 300K out of Delavan, WI. The western most third of the ride took us into the driftless area (the region never smoothed out by glaciers) which was the section with the most climbing. Certainly no mountains here, but it featured plenty of short 10 - 12% grades making it my hilliest brevet of the season so far.

Ride Log

rhm

Yesterday I rode 114 miles, my third century of the month (or fourth, if you count last week's double as two), meeting up with a couple other guys, including another forum member, for a 100k permanent in the middle of that. Sloppy maintenance (my idiocy: I already had reason to suspect a faulty rim strip but had forgotten to replace it; and I also forgot to bring a good pump... result: a rash of punctures that became increasingly difficult to patch as my spare tube and several patches) pretty well ruined the ride for me, and taxed the other guys' patience to the breaking point.

No photos. Not a ride anyone would want to remember anyway, except in a "don't let this happen to you" kind of way.

Lex Fati

Now that we're in the heart of rando season, getting in centuries just keeps happening.

The first weekend of June, I got in my requisite ride with the Minnesota Randonneurs Rochester - Decorah 400K.

Aside from pushing myself harder than I should have on the first half, there really wasn't anything spectacular about the ride until the last 100K when the weather started to go south. The last 30 miles being the most significant as the rain started quite heavily then. It lasted without really letting up until after we had finished.



The Great Lakes Randonneurs 600K this weekend started out wet, too. Thankfully, there was a nice break throughout most of the day on Saturday, but there would be more rain to come before the ride was over. Of course, it was raining at its hardest when I lost shifting in my rear derailleur. I made it about 5 miles to the next town where I found a the canopy of a closed gas station which served quite well as an emergency repair facility. The cable severed, and it really was just a matter of swapping it out. Thankfully, we had that technology.

rhm

Great photos, @Lex Fati!

On Saturday I had an informal 300k ride planned with two friends, also forum members, doing a clockwise circuit around central NJ.


In this photo, looking north across the Raritan Bay, the Verrazano Narrows bridge is just right of center, the skyscrapers of Manhattan just left of center; the rest of the horizon is dominated by Staten Island on the left, Brooklyn on the right.



We met up with another forum member while riding down the shore, and had a great lunch together. The sky became alarmingly dark several hours before sunset, and we decided to shorten the ride a bit, skipping the most charming sections of the Pine Barrens. Finished up around 6 PM having ridden just under 250 km.

rhm

On Friday I rode 107 miles around eastern Long Island. I rode my old Lambert, which is now set up as a one speed fixed gear (until recently it had a three speed fixed gear hub, but I gave up on that). It was a lovely day for a ride; warm, no clouds, hardly any wind, and some good scenery.

The Atlantic Ocean, looking west:


Herons in the tidal pools:



An osprey's nest on Shelter Island:


The Greenport Tall Ships Festival was underway:

Hypno Toad

It looks like I'm joining the club:

May - Almanzo 100
June - Westside Dirty Benjamin (I rode to the event for 150 mile day)
July - Tomorrow, I'm going out for a solo century around Minneapolis and Western 'burbs
August - Try to talk the wife into the century route for a charity ride, Tour de Tonka

I guess I need to keep this going! Winter could get interesting... I know guys around town that ride a century a month through the Minneapolis winter, we'll see if I'm one of those guys.

joewein

I completed two more centuries in May. The first was a double crossing of Izu peninsula (east-west-east) including my first climb of the Hakone mountains by bike.



That 232 km day was hard not just because of distance and because of the mid-day heat climbing Hakone from the west, I also later found out I was coming down with the flu and spent the next day in bed with a temperature...

On the last weekend of May I did my biggest ride of the year, BRM530 Lake Suwa 600 km.



It would have been my final ride for SR this year had I completed, but I DNF'ed halfway through. Saturday was very hot. Though it cooled off after sunset, when the route turned uphill for about 60 km, the heat had already taken its toll on me and many other participants. I slowed down more and more and finally called in my DNF. Already two hours late, I napped for an hour at the 330 km control, then rode back towards Tokyo as far as I could. I finally caught a train about 80 km west of Tokyo, to make it back home by midnight on the second day.

I spent 2/3 of June travelling to Europe and Latin America, so getting rides in wasn't easy. Doing three rides with two of my brothers back in Germany was great fun, I really treasure these opportunities. An afternoon bike tour of Buenos Aires, Argentina was fun too.



Between Europe and Argentina I took a Monday off for my first double climb (north-south-north) of Yabitsu toge, a mountain pass in the Tanzawa mountains about 80 km from Tokyo. This 174 km ride extended the century ride streak to month number 34. The route follows a river through the mountains. I love the sound of the water and the lush green in the summer heat.



The rainy season here normally ends around the end of June, but this year it dragged on into July, limiting riding opportunities. I headed out on a hot morning on the second July weekend and rode some 164 km in withering heat to Lake Yamanaka near Mt Fuji. It was as hot as 36 C (97 F) even in shaded forest sections and a couple of degrees hotter on exposed climbing sections. It finally cooled off in the late afternoon as I climbed up to the lake, which sits at around 900 m elevation.



After descending towards the coast I caught a train back from Shinmatsuda, instead of riding 10 more km from Odawara right at the coast as I usually do when I ride in this area. I might have cut it even shorter if not for 2 km of accidentally leaving the GPS paused that I wasn't sure about. I only rode 161 record km, the bare minimum for 100 mi.

That ride completed month number 35 of my century of the month series. August will complete 3 years of century ride months and I'm thinking of a single day coast-to-coast ride, basically a sub-24 hour double century through the mountains from the hot Pacific coast near Tokyo to the cool Sea of Japan coast near Niigata. I'll be riding with my son who at 21 is a much stronger cyclist than I am. I think it will be a memorable adventure for us.

Lex Fati

@Hypno Toad: You've got a good spring/summer run, anyway!

Last year, I met a few Minnesota Randonneurs who ride 200Ks through the winter, and they inspired me to shoot for my R12. Riding centuries through the winter takes a certain amount of dedication, but it can be done provided you get a few nice days (i.e. average temp above 15 degrees or so, not too much fresh snow).

These modifications worked for me. In fact, feeling cold was hardly an issue, except after stops. I'd warm right up once I got pedalling again. Figuring how to keep water from freezing and finding food that I could still eat below freezing became the real issue.

1. Mittens
2. Ditch the clipless pedals for *plastic* flat pedals. Even on the best winter boot, a metal cleat is a heat sink.
3. Layered clothing (preferably wool)

Hypno Toad

Thanks!

I am a fan of winter riding, your advice is spot-on! I haven't gone beyond ~30 miles on winter riders, most winter riding has been commuting.

I'll share a local secret for keeping water liquid for "longer" - Gupgum (no longer a local secret). With a coozie, the water will stay liquid twice as long. I've been out on sub-zero rides with liquid water for over an hour (without the coozie, it'd be frozen in 20 to 30 minutes). Here's the winter-commuter with the Gupgum coozie.



Getting the monthly winter centuries will be a challenge, but should prepare me for a stretch-goal - Arrowhead 135.

I'll keep posting as I go, see if I'm staying good to my word.

joewein

Thirty-six months of "a century ride a month" complete

I wanted the ride completing 3 years of what some would consider insanity to be special, so I combined it with one of my New Year plans, a (Japanese) coast to coast ride. Around Tokyo where I live, "coast to coast" amounts to more than a double century distance. Because of the size of the Kanto plain around Tokyo and because of the river valleys on the other side the route can be mostly flat, but with some mountains where you cross the watershed.





My friends Alan and Naomi had done a coast-to-coast ride back in 2009, so I asked them for the route, which turned out to be a great one. They sensibly did it in two days, staying overnight at Karuizawa, a resort town up in the mountains near the highest point, which is a popular escape from the summer heat for Tokyoites. For my friends it was a 190 km ride one day, followed by a 09:00 start for the 160 km ride the next day. They did it in early September, when it's is still pretty hot here.

I got my son to join me on this route, but decided to ratchet it up a notch, riding it without a nightly accommodation stay. We did it during August, during a heat wave when it was hotter in Tokyo than it was down in Singapore.

My son had joined me for a 300 km brevet in March (his first) and had no problems completing it, so I guessed he would do OK with fitness.



We left home around 08:15 and headed over to Rainbow Bridge on Tokyo bay as the Pacific starting point. All the cycling roads are asphalted, so we basically rode on a black solar collector all day. The temperature in the city was already at 35 C (95 F). By the time we got out of town and followed the mostly exposed Arakawa river cycling roads, the temperature hit 40 C (104 F). It stayed between 39 and 43 C until the mid-afternoon as we made our way along the Arakawa and Tonegawa. We drank plenty of water but the heat was brutal. By the late afternoon it became a bit easier.

By the time we reached the main climb to Usui Pass (about 900 m / 3000 ft) near Karuizawa it was dark. As we gained elevation and the stars came out temperatures finally dropped below 30 C (86 F). All the curves on the Usui pass are numbered, from 1 to 184. The scariest moment of the ride was when we both, climbing separately, passed a grunting wild boar by the roadside. We both sped up in panic to get away as quickly as possible... Fortunately it didn't chase us.

We reached Karuizawa 202 km from home around midnight. The roads were mostly deserted as we followed rolling hills, keenly anticipating the promised descent into Nagano prefecture. It took longer than expected before the long, fast descent began. The temperature had dropped to as low as 19 C and I put on a wind breaker.

Some time after 01:00 my son started getting sleepy, so we pulled into a convenience store parking lot and found a sheltered place behind the building, where we lied down on the bare concrete to sleep, using our rinko bags (to wrap up the bike for train rides) as pillows. Around 04:30 we woke up again from the cold and decided to head on. Nagano was beautiful in the early morning light, with mist sitting on surrounding mountains.



As the morning turned into day it gradually heated up again. We mostly followed cycling roads on flood control dams along the rivers, away from traffic, but also exposed to direct sunshine. Despite using sunscreen my arms were red from sunburn and my son had trouble sitting after so many hours on his roadie saddle (he has a Brooks on his touring bike).

Around midday we got to the second highest climb of the course, from one river valley into the next. By that time we were both weary and just wanted to get to the coast, so we could say we finished the ride. We shared a bag of dried mangoes, my "secret weapon" for when rides get tough. I can't say much about the final kilometres, except that we counted down the (estimated) distance to the coast during the hottest time of the day.

After 362 km, we made it.



We had some udon noodles at a restaurant near the train station, packed our bikes into the rinko bags and headed back to Tokyo via express train and the Shinkansen (bullet train). I slept most of the way. My wife picked us up by car at the station in Tokyo.

Having felt pretty exhausted on rides in the July heat ranging from 88 km to 164 km, I knew a coast to coast ride in this weather was going to be more crazy than fun. Nevertheless, I knew we could do it and wanted the experience.

Whenever I'll be uncomfortable on another ride, I'll always be able to look back at this one and say to myself: "That coast to coast ride wasn't easy either, but you made it. Don't give up! "

Lex Fati

July was a good month, though a bit tamer than June. I got the month off to a good start riding Dan Diehn's Coulee Challenge 200K from Black River Falls. A highlight of the ride is passing through the Mindoro Cut, a gap that had been cut through hard rock in 1907 and 1908 using only hand tools and horse-drawn equipment.



A few weeks later, I journeyed a bit further west into Minnesota for the Golden Pancake 200K. Although an extremely flat route, the night start kept it interesting. The year before, the same ride had been my first ride with the Minnesota Randonneurs. I had also met my girlfriend that night, so this ride was an anniversary of sorts. In start contrast to the year before, we rode audax style, the 9 of us starting and finishing together.


Before the month wrapped up, I also managed to get a ride down to Madison, too. It was a hot day, so keeping hydrated on the way down proved a challenge. I ended up falling behind and my appetite suffered. At least I managed to get down enough ice cream to stay fueled until the evening when it cooled down and I could get back to where I needed to be.


The steeple is all that remained and has been preserved; the rest of the church burned in a fire.


The ghost bike reminds of the fallen.

rhm

I rode out along the south shore of Long Island yesterday, with no fixed plan other than to investigate roads I don't already know.



Early 1970's Lambert frame with mostly 1970's components. Fixed gear. On Long Island, you really don't need more than one gear.



Beautiful morning, gentle wind from the west, and for some reason I decided to go straight through Southampton just to get to the other side. Bad move. Terrible traffic, drivers in a hurry, and I had a very close call with a driver turning left across traffic; I swerved as fast and as far as I could, was already unclipped, totally ready to launch myself onto his hood when he stopped, don't think he was more than a foot from me by then. Knees wobbling I rode on another five miles just to distance myself from the memory a little, then rested in the shade a good long time. Finally headed on. Until I got to Easthampton I had been considering riding all the way to Montauk, but by then there wasn't time for that, so I decided to turn left and head up to Sag Harbor. But in the turn lane I hit a freshly broken bottle that gave me an instant flat. Patched it, but the tube blew through a gash I should have seen. Patched it with a view of one of the wind mills and booted the gash with a dollar bill, pumped up, and the valve stem broke in half. Nice. Put in a new tube....

When I was eventually on my way I discovered a second rupture in my tire. Booted it with the wrapper of a Clif Bar and continued on. Luckily I found an open bike shop in Southampton, where I bought a POS Bontrager tire; got home without further excitement, but it was a hard ride. My gentle west wind had become a serious annoyance. But it was still a lovely day. I just wish I hadn't spent two hours of it futzing with tires!

Also glad not to have been creamed by a motorist. Oy.

Swallows nesting in the beach cabin at Easthampton:


An unusually long ride, felt like a lot more than the 112 miles logged! But dinner was ready for me when I got home.... mmm.

rhm

On Monday I continued my exploration of New Jersey's Pinelands, AKA "The Pine Barrens." The region is smaller than it used to be, and for my purposes starts on the other side of the military reservation that comprises Fort Dix, Maguire AFB, Lakehurst Naval Air Station. So the ride started out with some 35 miles of paved roads, after which I got to the fun stuff:



Sometimes not so much fun:


And sometimes no fun at all.


It's a bit perplexing to me, how these roads vary so much; something to do with the kind of traffic they see (some roads are badly washboarded, perhaps by trucks carrying cranberries?) and something to do with the underlying sand (some sand retains water better than other sand, and the more water it retains, the harder the substrate), and something to do with maintenance (some of the roads appear to have gravel added, and perhaps also clay). But whatever it is, the maps don't reflect it. I never know what I'll find.

Also perplexing are the towns. The maps show a place called 'Friendship' where there was once a town; but I only saw an empty field with a bridge over a very lazy stream:
.

At another place, Whitesbog, which I've passed many times on the paved road, I found the actual town, which is preserved:


Pinelands scenery is rather distinctive. Often the trees are more interesting than the forest, if you know what I mean.



Anyway, total, 113 miles including some 20 miles of sand roads. 8 hours on the bike, 4 hours looking at stuff, eating, etc. Stopped at a farm stand and got some beets for dinner on the way home, which was a good move. My wife loves fresh beets!

Lex Fati

@rhm, love the NJ pine barrens photos and write up. It really expands my midwesterner's perception of the state.

I rode several 100+ mile rides in August, but none can compare to PBP. Certainly overkill for the month's requisite century, but the experience was like nothing else.











My full ride report is here: bike.apiotrowski.net/ridelog/grandrandonnees/parisbrestparis/

Lex Fati

Hard to believe September is already here. As expected for this time of the year, the temperatures are changing drastically. This last weekend, I was up in Door County for the Door County Century. It was quite chilly. Cooler than I had expected, but not unseasonably so. The weekend prior I rode down to the state capitol in Madison (200K) again on Saturday and then returned Sunday. Sunday was an extremely hot and humid day, at least for me, and I found myself taking an extra unscheduled stop about halfway in to escape the heat for a while. Though not at all uncommon, the difference in temperature between the last two weekends is a reminder to be prepared for anything this time of year.

Unfortunately, on both trips I was in "go" mode, and wasn't thinking about stopping to take pictures. On the return trip from Madison, though, about 20 miles from home I encountered the storm I had expected to beat when I set off. I managed to get a few frames.

joewein

I usually do a century on the first weekend of the month, but one typhoon after another and a business trip meant I didn't have a chance until last Saturday. I did want to make sure to get one in before the last brevet of the year on the last September weekend, so that it wouldn't be the only chance to extend the streak to 37 months.

I left home at 06:50, met up with a friend 13 km from home and then headed towards the mountains. After stocking up on bananas at a convenience store we headed into the hills. It being almost autumn equinox the rice harvest has finally started. I think with all the rain it was later than usual this year:





We stopped for lunch at a small family-run soba shop in the mountains that has a beautiful garden and some great views.





Thankfully the heat of the summer is gone and temperatures are mild, not too warm and not too cool. I didn't even bring a wind breaker for the evening and for the descents. I love this time of the year.

After some final small detours to ensure the total distance was over 100 miles, I ended up with about 168 km with 1869 m of climbing. I'm now at three years and one months of centuries

joewein

With my October ride I'm now up to three years and two months of "one century a month".



My friends Peter, Toru and Byron took the train from Tokyo to Chichibu in the mountains of Saitama. From there we rode a 94 km loop that I've been doing every year for a few years for an autumn foliage ride. I usually pre-ride the early November foliage group ride by myself or with a friend a few weeks earlier, before the leaves fully turn. This year's foliage ride is pencilled in for Nov 3, which is Culture Day (a Japanese public holiday).



There was very little traffic, especially once we reached a back road behind a hydroelectric dam. After that the road heads up a mountain valley and through some tunnels. We bypassed two of these tunnels for a scenic ride / hike along the river.



One section was closed due to a massive rock slide that left huge boulders on the road that we had to climb over.



Later we climbed up another valley to visit the Ogurazawa ruins, a ghost town that was abandoned over 30 years ago. Amongst other places you can find a former hospital there that is pretty spooky.





After a few more km of climbing on the mountain road we reached the tunnel at the top and descended down the other side, which has great views. About half an hour later we got back to the main road, for the 40 km or so (mostly downhill) back to Chichibu. I guided my friends back to the station, then headed on for the second half of my ride (another 90+ km) back to Tokyo over several other mountain passes. In total it was 186 km.

My friends really enjoyed the route. The riverside closed due to the rock slides was an almost mystic experience, we were the only people there with the rocks, the gushing water, the leaves and the sunshine.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for good weather for the November ride, so we can fully enjoy the autumn colours on the main ride on the same route.

Lex Fati

Rode two "end of season" 200Ks this October.

The first one, out of New Richmond, WI, was the last brevet of the Minnesota Randonneurs season. Although it felt a bit cold right at the beginning, it wasn't long before the sun came up and I felt overdressed. Typically, by the first weekend of October, the fall colors are bright in the northwoods. Unfortunately, this year, there hadn't been much change yet. Furthermore, by heading east in the morning and west in the afternoon, we spent most of the day chasing the sun. The photos from this ride are hardly worth sharing. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant, yet challenging, end of season ride through one of the hillier parts of northwestern Wisconsin.

A week later further south in Richland Center, WI, the Fennimore Frolic marked the end of the Driftless Randonneur's season. Although and end of season ride, it was also the first brevet for three of the riders. The colors were vibrant, though a veil of fog initially obscured some of the view.

joewein

Month #39 complete. I rode from Tokyo down to Miura peninsula, around the coast line and back via the western suburbs in Machida. The total came to 199 km.



Last month I was off the bike for two weeks due to an extended business trip and wasn't entirely sure my legs would remember how to pedal.

Temperatures have dropped a lot. Since we rarely get any snow I ride through the winter, but adjusting to the change is always a challenge. I did quite OK. The coldest part were the 4 1/2 hours after sunset, but it wasn't too bad once I put on my wind breaker.

At sunset I caught a glimpse of Mt Fuji peeking through the clouds behind the island of Enoshima near Kamakura.

Lex Fati

I picked up a cheap fixie in early October, and rode my first fixed gear century on it two weeks ago, Saturday. It was a 200K perm route I ride fairly frequently. There is a bit of rolling terrain in some spots, but nothing too shocking. There's a good amount of flat terrain mixed in, too. Nonetheless, it was enough for me to feel a sense of accomplishment at the end.

Then, this last weekend went back to Black River Falls, WI to ride the Coulee Challenge 200K again. This time I brought my gears with me. The route owner put out the word locally, and we ended up with a nice group of six: three from Wisconsin and three from Minnesota.

At 19 degrees F (-7.2C), the start was about 10 degrees cooler than forecast at the start. The cold didn't last long, though. Before the day was over we were well into the 50s (10-15C). In fact, even after having shed layers I felt like I was overheating on a few of the tougher climbs.


Bare trees and dusting of frost on a crisp morning


Any previous complaints of being cold have long since passed, especially getting over the ridges. It turned out to be quite a beautiful day for mid-November in Wisconsin.


Enjoying the company. I don't expect to have a group like this on a longer ride again for the next few months. Getting to be that time of the year, I guess.

Lex Fati

I got my December 200k in yesterday, completing this year's Century A Month Challenge. The last few days have been unseasonably warm for Wisconsin this time of year. We haven't had any snow yet to speak of, either, so fortunately the roads were still clear. It was nice to not need to break out the heavy artillery just quite yet.

rhm

Ooops! Looks like I forgot to post my October Century! Well, let's get that over with before I proceed to worse tales of indolence...

October 17 I got on my recently renovated Trek touring bike (I got it new in 1983) and rode up the Delaware Canal from Washington Crossing to somewhere north of Riegelsville.


Here you see the canal on the left, the path, and the river on the right.


One of the old locks on the canal.


The quality of the path varies, but even where it gets narrow, it's pretty good.


It felt like summer!


I saw several blue heron and kingfishers, and a couple little animals that discreetly hid just as I saw them. One of them, I'm pretty sure, was a fox. Another, well, I don't know. In this photo, I think there's a blue heron up on the branch overhanging the water! I know, I know.

I had an old GPS unit with me, that I was powering off my dynamo when needed. It mostly wasn't needed. Once I was sure I'd gone far enough, I turned it on and had the GPS guide me home. It would tell me to take a turn, and if I liked the look of the road, I took the turn. If I didn't, I kept going and it came up with another suggestion. At one point I fell in with another cyclist who was doing his annual solo century, so I turned off the GPS and we rode together a dozen miles. I wasn't concerned about the route. Eventually he turned north where I though it better to turn south, so we parted ways and I started listening to the GPS again. It was a really fun way to ride, got me on a lot of roads I would never have taken in other circumstances. A good ride!

102.2 miles, 4300 feet of climbing.

rhm

Now, as for November, I still haven't done it . Bad planning. Finally got the plan worked out, got up early yesterday morning and rode 46 cold, cold miles before meeting a friend for our usual 65 mile loop, which would have worked out nicely; but it turned out he is fighting off a head cold, and didn't feel up to the usual route. I ended up with only 86 miles! And by then I had used up the allotted time, had to start making dinner.

Near Harlingen I saw something I have not seen before:

I hope that's not too gruesome for you. It's a mink that met his untimely end trying to cross the road. Doh!

Sourland Mountain:

it doesn't feel like summer any more.

This is where Washington crossed the Delaware:

But he did it at night, in much worse weather.

86.1 miles, 4600 feet of climbing.