I’m back from Anguilla and the wedding. Anguilla was great, but the bikes the hotel promised us would arrive by 9:00 am never showed up despite repeated requests. Taken together with the 10 days I didn’t ride before the vacation because of my knee, I’ve now been off the bike for almost 18 days. That’s the longest I’ve gone without riding since at least 2008!

It’s all good, though. My knee feels perfect again, and now I’m on the English 650B with a much lower low end–34/36 vs 34/25 on the 700C English. Hopefully spinning up mountains, as opposed to grinding up in the 34/25, will prevent the knee pain from coming back. I also made a deal with the devil, and I have some Speedplays coming. These pedals always struck me as a little dumb because the mechanical bits are part of the cleats rather than the pedal, but if they reduce the risk for knee pain, so be it.

After a quick trip to California next week, I’ll be back for the rest of the summer, so expect lots of new routes in July. They will be of the shorter variety, say 50 to 80 miles, for a while. I don’t want to push out a 200-mile ride until I’m sure about my knee. I need to get back into fightin’ shape, because I have a 400-mile ride planned for August, starting in Albany and circumnavigating the Adirondacks. Note that this isn’t a bicycle tour, we’ll be doing it rando-style, meaning that I have a hotel reserved at about 250 miles so we can pass out for 3-4 hours before completing the ride.

And of course, don’t forget to enter the Win a Garmin contest!

John

medicalwriter.net

I’m off to a meeting in California, and then Anguilla…to get married. I asked my bride what time the ceremony will be on Saturday and she said “why, do you want to go for a ride first?”

Do I have a problem?

Anyway, it works out well because I’m still working on rehabilitating my vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) to make my knee track a little better. I’ve only ridden about 80 miles in the last two weeks, as compared with about 250 miles weekly before the knee pain. But when I get back, I’ll have the English waiting for me with low, low gearing to get me up those hills without destroying my knees again, and my knee should be all better.

So check back in 10 days, and consider entering the Win a Garmin competition. The best thing that could happen is you’ll win a Garmin or a set of the best tires ever made…worst that could happen is you have a great day on the best roads in three states.

John

medicalwriter.net

As you know if you’ve been reading along, I’m on a mission: To get as many people as possible riding up here in the Catskills.

And as you will also know if you’ve been reading along, my Garmin 800 was destroyed after riding in the rain. Why Garmin can’t make a device that stands up to the rain, I don’t know. I’m giving it to a friend who is going to have it fixed.

In the meantime, however, I bought a Garmin 810…and just before it arrived, I received another Garmin 800 as a gift. It sounds complicated, I know, but the upshot is that I have an extra Garmin 800 now that’s unreturnable. I thought about regifting it, but then I had an idea.

Here’s your chance to win a Garmin 800 (first place) or a set of your choice of Grand Bois tires (second place) (Stand by for an update, though, there may be more prizes coming). The Garmin is the base model, so you’ll need to get a card with the maps, or just buy an SD card and download Open Maps.

Here’s the contest:

• Design a route in Ride With GPS* of 50 to 200 miles in Ulster, Greene, or Delaware Counties (or use one of mine). One-day rides only. Camping trips are nice, but not what I’m looking for.
• Ride that route
• Send me at least 500 well-written words, at least 5 pictures, a map generated on Ride WIth GPS, and a link to the route, all of which will be posted as a guest post on my blog under your name or a pseudonym of your choice
• Profit

You do not have to tell me why you want or deserve the Garmin. I don’t care, I just want to get people riding up here.

The contest is open to anyone who does not live in Ulster, Greene, or Delaware counties (yeah, I’m aware there could be cheating, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t, though).

Here’s how you will be judged, in order of importance:

1. Good story, well written. I reserve the right to edit.
2. Great pictures
3. Great route
4. Distance On second thought, let’s call this category “adventure.” Your ride can be anywhere between 50 and 200 miles, but back roads, mountains, and gravel are a big plus. Sorry for changing the rules–on reflection, I don’t want people riding 200 miles who aren’t ready for it!
5. Public transport (use the train if you can)

A few edits: I don’t care how fast you go. Just enjoy yourself! Also, no organized events, please.

The contest runs from right now until September 30. I’m betting I get less than 10 entries, so you’ve got a great chance of winning. Enter as many times as you like!

Entries will be judged by me alone, on purely subjective criteria. And I hate to say this, but keep in mind that I am not liable for any injury that results from entering this contest.

*Just FYI, Ride With GPS also generates cue sheets, so you don’t need a GPS to use it.

John

medicalwriter.net