Autumn Riding

The Great Pumpkin Metric was a great ride this year.  Fantastic weather.  I rode the Paramount on the 100k route and felt great.  Even the hills I hated most in years past, Burdette and St. Phillip, though tough were much easier than in years past.

Last weekend was Hilly Hundred weekend.  It's a great ride with a lot of riders.  Saturday was chilly with a high of 55° and gloomy, including some rain.  Sunday was also cool but sunny, making it much more pleasant.  Probably not too difficult for people who live and ride in Colorado, Tennessee, etc... but challenging for many of us flatlanders.  I rode the Cannondale on that ride.  I wanted to try out my upgrades in gearing and brakes this time around.  It was tough but the improvements were apparent.  It probably would have been somewhat easier had I ridden the Paramount though.

Looking back down Mt. Tabor

I recently ran across another good deal.  I picked up a Diamondback 29er priced at 1/3 off.  I have been wanting a newer, more capable MTB for some time.  Those 29er wheels look huge next the old one's 26's.  The bike just looks big.  Sitting on it, the front wheel simply looks massive when I'm accustomed to looking down to see a front wheel, this one's wheel looms much more prominently ahead.

It will be interesting to try out the hydraulic disc brakes, as well as the massive gearing, on the trail.  On my short jaunts around the neighborhood it appears that if I can keep the front wheel on the ground, I can climb it.

Return of the Great Pumpkin

This past Sunday I participated in The Great Pumpkin Metric Bicycle Tour for the 15th time.  It was a great ride.  I remember the first time, back in 1985, when I was new to the organized tour scene.  Back then 50k (31 miles) seemed like a long ride.  I rode hard that day and was exhausted after I finished the ride.

More recently was the year when the temperature was up in the 90's, a bit hot for October.  Another year the high was in the mid 50's and windy.  I was probably more exhausted after that one than any other ride I have taken.  It also took me hours to warm up after that.

This year the weather was perfect, the best I can remember.  High in the mid 70's, calm and sunny.  I don't know if I am in better shape now than in the past or if it's due to the newer and lighter bike, but it was definitely the easiest that ride has ever been for me.  I believe it was a combination of the two.  My average speed wasn't really faster than in previous years, but the hills, even the worst ones, weren't as painful.  The real test is coming up...the Hilly Hundred.  100 miles over two days with some nasty hills.  Fun though.