max-a-mill

https://ctcpa.blogspot.com/

anyone riding?

this has become my annual spring tune up (and now that i have kids, my only really long ride).

good route lots of nice roads.

Steamer

I'll be there. Looking forward to it.

max-a-mill

schweet!!!!

i'll be the tall white guy on a white specialized allez with one of those big assed seatbags (new for this year) carrying all my gear.

done this before? any goals other than finishing?

hoping for some warm(er) weather and sunshine this year (same hope i have every year i guess; hasn't come true in a few years though so maybe the odds are good this year?). a nice stiff tailwind would be nice too!

btw, if you'd be into sharing a hotel the night before let me know. i might have a place to stay but it is still kind of up in the air for this year.

unterhausen

I'm planning on it. I'll be the guy on Steamer's wheel, sucking chair

Steamer

Hey Max - it's Tom. We spent one very windy day riding together last spring.

Here was a pic of you on that ride (for everyone else's benefit, Max isn't riding the lawn chair with wheels):



I am hoping for more favorable winds this year. Warmer temps and no precip would be nice too, while I am making my wish list.

You did really well with that messenger bag. I would get annoyed by them in about half hour, I don't know how it didn't drive you nuts after 19 hours of riding like that. Anyways, the saddlebag will be more comfortable, I am sure.

I am not sure of accommodations in Pittsburgh. I might have a couch to crash on - not sure. Will let you know if a hotel ends up being what I do - splitting a room several ways is a good thing.

After last years failure, I am looking for some redemption. Not trying to set any speed record - just to knocking this years ride out in style / without a struggle.

max-a-mill

cool glad you'll be back Tom! you dragging Dan out again this year as well (the other guy in the pic on the lawn chair with wheels )? i had a great time riding with you two last year you truly know how to suffer in style!!!

my plan this year is to try to go straight through this year but we'll see. maybe trying to take a little nap on the morning of day 2?

i took a forced 2 month break this winter when i shattered my collarbone. i am back on the bike feeling good but don't have as many miles or nearly as many long rides in my legs as last year...

yeah sunshine tailwinds and warm temps are what we DEMAND for this year (so i'll probably see you at the start in a cold rain again).

Steamer

Sorry to hear about your collarbone. We've got two weeks less this year to get ready too. 600K+ that time of year in this neck of the (frozen) woods is a little cruel.

Dan is planning to ride. I am hoping to crash on his couch the nght before the start.

Riding straight through is tough for me. The sleep monster hits me pretty hard and I need some rest on the overnight. Even if it's just a hour or so. I would consider riding straight though f everything just clicked into place, but I kinda doubt it will for me. More realisitcally I will stop at the Days Inn in Chambersburg, sleep 3 or 4 hours, and try to get going before dawn on Saturday if at all possible.

Cold doesn't bother me much so long as it's not raining and we don't have a headwind the whole time. That stuff gets old after a couple hundred miles.

Did you and Dan G. run into much precip. last year on the final 150 miles, after Dan B. and I abandoned?

max-a-mill

i don't think there was any rain or at least nothing significant for that final stretch last year... actually aside from the wind and COLD overnight temps last years weather actually wasn't too bad. i'd take those conditions again (especially that wind blowing at our backs in this direction).

as for the overnight i agree 3-4 hours sleep would certainly be nice BUT last time we rode this direction i think we all used that same basic plan and it seemed to me i slept through all the nice quiet overnight road conditions and got back out in the morning with the worst of the SLOW weekend traffic through somerset and that whole area. i remember being real pissed at cars that day 2 morning... plus when you get a hotel you got showers, sit down meals, then more showers and more sit down meals.... i have a really hard time not getting TOO comfortable.

ideally i'd like to see the sun come up on the morning of day 2 and stop in a nice soft lancaster area field for a couple hours of nap while the warm morning sun keeps me ever so nice and warm. have 80 tons of caffeine at the ready for when i wake up feeling like hell, then shoot for the bell.

if not that then at least somehow make it across the susquehana before sleeping?

but yeah as we know all that sounds good while planning, the reality on the course may be VERY different.

the only thing certain on this ride is massive quantities of sheetz will be consumed. last year i fell had a love affair with their burritos and deep fried apple slices.

<homer>MMMM; DEEP FRIED APPLE SLICES</homer>

Steamer

Uh oh. I had a bad experience with a Sheetz burrito recently. I'm done with those.

While we're talking junk food, I'll let it be known that I plan on hitting Maple Donuts on the east side of York for breakfast on Saturday.

unterhausen

donuts are good

Steamer

My LCWW gets about 8 miles to the donut.

max-a-mill

yeah i have gotten jealous of the donut pics from the last couple years (a damn fine long distance fuel if you ask me). might need to try to stop there this year if it isn't at some ungodly hour when we roll through there (which i kinda hope for actually, cause that would mean we are making good time ).

robburrito used to be a staple of the crossing but a couple years back we waited like 30-45 minutes for a damn burrito... dem kidz seemed to be getting a little too punk rock for their own good.

sit down meals are incredible but if you pick the wrong spot and get slow service it can lead to wasting a huge amount of time. which sucks if you really are in the mood to keep pedaling

rosswog

Completed CTC in 40 hours... Here's my ride report:

https://michaelrosswog.com/blog/?p=4

unterhausen

that was a great writeup, thanks

Steamer

Congrats on a great ride. Awesome job. Awesome write up.
Be careful though. This long distance cycling thing is addictive, and you just had your first taste.

max-a-mill

yeah nice job!

hah! i was one of the two "other dudes" who got there 20 minutes or so after you.

impressive first crack at this! my first year took us 3 days and i almost froze to death trying to camp overnight at cowan's gap with nothing more than a tarp and a sleeping bag.

this year that mud on the GAP had all of us who got stuck in it questioning our sanity for sure. in addition to just being horribly slow for about 10 miles it was just caking up in my fork and there was nothing i could do about it. then riding through the storm... it was a hell of a day 1.

day 2 was ridiculous though with sunshine and those killer tailwinds.

definitely a memorable year. you should try it the other way next year. i just hope the winds don't blow that hard in our face :O

rosswog

Good to hear from you, man! I'll have to wait and see how much nostalgia I have for the ride before committing to east - west. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I am all in for 2015.

max-a-mill

i'll tell you what i haven't quit once in 6 or 7 tries so far; but if we had to ride into that wind we experienced at our backs saturday i'd have quit no doubt.

also wondering if i have yet another year in me next year... i might go with another fun torturous ride as my spring opener. but it is nice to know this is always there waiting to torture you each spring if your up for it.

Steamer

If you like the whole point-to-point thing, then you might enjoy doing a Fleche.

Unterhausen is already planning a revised route for next year. (this year's was quite good, but could use a key modification or two, nevertheless)......

https://rothrockcyrcle.wordpress.com/.../nygtf-fleche/
https://rothrockcyrcle.wordpress.com/...nneurs-fleche/