Author Archives: John Ferguson

Lake MX331 Review (Part 1)

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After 5 years of slipping and sliding around on road shoes with Look cleats, I’ve decided to switch back to mountain bike shoes. The original impetus for switching to road shoes was that I was developing hot spots on long rides, which the Look pedals and stiff road shoes solved completely.

However, I’ve found myself avoiding certain routes, particularly those that require some off roadin’ and/or hike-a-bike. Those routes are some of the best. There’s a picture of me somewhere on this blog leaping a log in a single bound in road shoes on one of my rides; what it didn’t show was me falling on my ass half a dozen times or the 10-minute process of completely removing my shoes to clean the mud out of my cleats and pedals.

So I’ve decided to switch back to mountain bike pedals. The great thing, though, is that over the last 5 years cross has increased in popularity dramatically, and now there are shoes that provide a hybrid of road stiffness and mountain bike traction.

These came in the mail yesterday:

They’re Lake MX331s. I chose these because they are made of leather. I had great success with the Rapha road shoes because my feel are oddly shaped, and the leather allowed them to, ultimately, form themselves to my feet. They are more comfortable than my regular shoes, and they still get my highest recommendation if you’re looking for a road shoe (and don’t mind looking a little silly; I still think they look like golf shoes).

The Lake MX331s are moldable, so of course the first thing I did was pop them in the oven at 200 degrees for 5 minutes. Then I put them on and formed the heel cup, which appeared to make a substantial difference in heal retention. Supposedly the arch is also heat-formable, but I didn’t have much success in changing the shape of the arch.

The great thing about these is that they are stiff as hell. I can’t get any flex whatsoever out of the sole, which is good news in terms of reducing the risk for hot spots over long rides.

Now all I need are pedals. I ordered these:

Hopefully they will arrive before my 2015 debut on Monday.

John

medicalwriter.net

Almost time!

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I’m back and it’s time to get back on the road!

In years past, I rode right through the winter–in fact I remember navigating deep snow drifts on the west side bike path in mid-January in temperatures far below freezing.

This year, I took a different tack. On December 1, I officially retired my road bike for the winter, and instead dedicated myself to some, uh, vigorous indoor training. It’s pretty clear after 8 years of winter riding that it does little to contribute to my ongoing fitness, since the rides tend to be short, slow, and damn cold.

I am happy to report that the indoor training seems to have done something, although I’m not sure what. My formerly golf ball-sized calves are now the size of tennis balls, and I can run 10 miles on a treadmill 5-6 days a week. I’m hoping that some of that fitness will translate into improved on-bike speed. Not that I care much about speed other than the fact that it allows me to go further.

I’ve been obsessively doing maintenance on my bikes, reorganizing the bike closet, putting on new cleats, loading routes into the Garmin, and all that other preparatory stuff. I’m so ready to get out of the house again.

So Monday is the big day to get back on the bike. I’ve also resolved to take a more logical approach to early-season training. Instead of starting with something stupid like a 110-mile ride including Platte Clove, like I did last year (and was subsequently unable to walk for about 3 days after), I’m starting slow to avoid broken knees. That means week 1 is two 20-mile rides and a 40 on Saturday. I’m going to up the weekday mileage to no more than three 40-mile weekday rides over a month or so, and add 10 miles to the Saturday ride each week until I get to 200 miles. Then it’s time for the Vermont Special: a 324-mile ride that you are all welcome to join me for! I should be doing it around the time that my friends are suffering through PBP.

As always, all my routes are here. And if you have any questions or want to join me (I should be up to 80 mile Saturdays by the end of March) you know how to get in touch.

John

Where’s John?

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Still here! Mostly hiking and killing myself with indoor training, although I’ve gotten a few good rides in.

Yesterday, Margot and I and our two minions hiked to the top of Aumick in Minnewaska preserve. It was slippery, foggy, and generally a glorious hike, made five times harder by the slippery slush–particularly on the way up.

I also bought a new bike, but it doesn’t arrive until mid-April.

This last year was a bit of disaster in terms of riding: only 3500 miles. I blame the big move and tons of travel for work. For comparison, I rode over 8000 miles the year before.

My primary goal for this year is a reasonable 6000 miles, with a peak 300-mile ride. I think that should be relatively easily accomplished if I can keep the work travel miles under 100k this year. I’m also going to focus on increasing speed–not because I care about winning a race, but because that means I can expand my range. If you’ve been following along on the blog, you’ll know that my usual approach to 100-mile plus rides is puttering around at 15 mph or less and exploring all the side roads, with lots of breaks for pictures and food. More focus is desperately needed, and that’s part of the reason why I’m staying indoors for a few months and focusing on intensive training.

I’m going to be building up to weekend centuries starting at the beginning of March. Provided work doesn’t interfere, I should be up to centuries again by the second week of April. I’ll announce where and when prior to each ride, and if you want to join me, please do!

John

medicalwriter.net

PSA: Have you Gotten a Flu Shot Yet?

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A brief digression from your regularly scheduled programming.

Those of you who know me know that I do a considerable amount of work on vaccines. Among all the revolutions that have come over the past century in modern medicine, I think I can safely argue that–at least from a public health standpoint–vaccines have had the greatest impact on disease burden.

I normally don’t write posts on health topics, but here’s why you should get a flu vaccine this year, aside from the obvious reason that you don’t want to get the flu: The symptoms of the flu mimic the early signs and symptoms of Ebola. Depending on how bad the situation gets (or, alternatively, how paranoid your local health authority gets), you could walk into the doctor with the flu and end up getting screened or even quarantined.

If you live in NYC, go here and follow the instructions to find a vaccination site.

If you live elsewhere, go here.

At most, it’s $35 for a shot; you can even get them for free at some clinics.

Even though I work on vaccines, I’ve never gotten a flu shot before. I’ve scheduled an appointment for Friday!

John

medicalwriter.net

Return of Rene

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I took Rene out for a 20-mile shakedown spin today–it’s been over a year since the last time I rode this bike.

RIMG0123

Fop chariots are very convenient for late fall, winter, and early spring because there’s enough space for changes of clothes and lots of food. I have a few 200-300 mile rides planned for this fall, and there are few places to stop at 4 am in the middle of the Catskills for a snack. The Berthoud lunchbox and generator-powered lighting are very convenient for all-night rides.

Although I feel slower because I can’t feel the road through the 38-mm tires, I seem to be at least as fast, if not a little faster, on this bike than on my narrow-tired bikes.

John

medicalwriter.net

Local Events: Field + Supply Arts and Crafts Show in High Falls

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I know this blog makes me sound unidimensional (bikes). Or perhaps bidimensional (bikes and pets). But I do have other interests, one of which is design.

On October 11 and 12, Field + Supply will be holding an event that is intended to “modernize and elevate the traditional arts and crafts fair” in High Falls, a small town to the north of New Paltz. Some of my favorites will be there, in particular Asher Israelow, among others. Plus BBQ and oysters!

The website provides driving directions…for some reason, though, they did not provide a GPS cycling route. I can’t imagine why.

Never fear, here’s how to get there from Poughkeepsie by bike.

If you don’t want to take the bike path, this is the way to go. Or at least this is the way I’d go:

That’s 52 miles, with the first 2.5 and last 5 miles on dead flat, paved bike path (trust me, it’s better than riding on 299). Twenty-five more amazing miles to High Falls, eat BBQ and buy cool stuff (presumably they’ll ship it to you), and return via a very pretty 20 miles route to Poughkeepsie. The route passes my house, which–according to my blogging colleague John S–much resembles a door stop. You’ll know it when you see it.

Just as a note, at around mile 38.5, you may not be able to take a right because it leads right into a religious community. If that happens, just take 213 one more mile and take a right on Cow Hough and you’ll be back on track.

If you want to take the bike path, here’s an easy route. 39 miles of bump and grind:

Unfortunately, I’ll be in Boston on Saturday for work, but I will be attending on Sunday. I’ll ride there, of course!

John F (aka the slow John)

medicalwriter.net

The Plan: Tuesday, September 23

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So here’s the plan for Tuesday, September 23. 110 miles, around 6600 feet of climbing. This should be very significantly easier than last week’s distance ride–after mile 52 there is a distinct downward trend to the route.

If you want to join me, let me know. 7 am, my place. Just as a warning: a 110-mile ride with me tends to be an all-day experience. I’m slow and I stop for pictures and food!

The following Tuesday I’ll be doing a shorter ride (only 94 miles) with lots of gravel that is routed through Poughkeepsie–an easy place to meet if you are so inclined. Plus, if you start from Poughkeepsie you’ll only have to ride 64 glorious miles.

John

medicalwriter.net

RTC on LSD: Touching Massachusetts

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That’s LSD as in long slow distance, you.

Forgive me in advance, please. This isn’t going to be my most elegant post–it’s 8:30 at night and I’m still working, and I sadly did not get around to taking too many pictures.

On Tuesday, two-thirds of your RTC bloggers–John S and I–went for a ride that crossed Dutchess County, entered Connecticut, and then headed north to Massachusetts and then back.

The day started out wet and cold–in fact, if I hadn’t been obligated to meet John at the pedestrian bridge across the Hudson, I might have stayed in bed. I initially left the house in just a light long-sleeve jersey, bib shorts, and a light rain jacket, but quickly turned around and put on a real coat, some legwarmers, and a lot of embrocation. A quick 15-mile trip from my house to the bridge, where John S showed up precisely on time.

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From there, we headed north and then across Dutchess toward Pine Plains. I vaguely recognized the termini of some of the roads we passed, and I realized later that they were part of the Brewster-New Hamburg classic. I crashed at precisely 0.5 mph while climbing when I encountered a deep patch of very soft sand.

John had to be home much earlier than me, so he turned around and returned home via a different route at about mile 50. That left me to face the first real challenge of the day solo: WInchell Mountain Road.

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On the plus side, the day got progressively nicer over time.

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Now, I thought that was a challenge, but it was nothing compared to what was coming up. After crossing into Connecticut, a left turn led me onto Factory Road, which ultimately turns into Mt Riga road and then to Mt Washington Road. A source of some confusion because I hadn’t turned on my GPS and was looking for Mt Riga–and, of course, none of the roads were clearly marked. And then the real climbing began. I am not ashamed to say that at this point I was tired enough to get off my bike a few times. It was getting hot, and when I unzipped my sleeves, I found that my elbow was bleeding from my earlier crash.

The rest of the ride was largely uneventful, which was great because I had a slowly growing contusion on my hip from my uncoordinated fall earlier. But not entirely uneventful: As far as I can tell, I took a wrong turn around mile 100. Because I’m stubborn and refused to retrace my route, I ended up navigating by cell phone back to Poughkeepsie, where I wandered around for more miles than I care to admit in the not-so-nice parts of town trying to find where the bike path crossed at grade so that I could get back across the Hudson.

All in all, a successful, beautiful ride that ended up (with getting lost) at 138 miles. After all, you’re not really having fun until you’re so tired you don’t know how you’re going to make it home!

Here’s the route, for those of you are interested, just keep in mind that I didn’t ride anything past mile 100 or so.

Finally–I’m considering making Tuesdays my day for regular 100 mile+ rides. I’ll publish the routes in advance, and if you want to join me, let me know!

(Just FYI, if you haven’t read through all my posts on the blog: I’m slow, I like to stop to take pictures, and I like a good meal. So no worries that it will be a hammerfest!)

John

medicalwriter.net

A Simple Plan: Monday September 15 2014

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It’s time to get serious. If anyone wants to join me, this is the plan for next Monday (unfortunately, I’ll be at a meeting this weekend!) Note that I accidentally routed part of this on the Appalachian Trail; I’ll fix that before departure. My place, 8 am. Bring lights because who knows what is going to happen.

PS: See the comment from Spencer, who knows Northern Dutchess better than me–apparently I picked some good roads!

Edit: And here’s the actual plan. Not routing over the Appalachian Trail did wonders for the length (10 miles less) and amount of climbing (minus 1500 feet). Now it’s just an ho-hum average ride.

In other news, I made something delicious:

John

medicalwriter.net

Mr Bates

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Coming soon. My new winter bike.

I’m building it with modern components, including mini V’s. Campagnolo, of course (I’ve had quite enough of SRAM, and Shimano is sadly difficult to shift in winter gloves). Apparently has enough clearance for 32-mm tires–perfect for a winter bike. I should mention that it has been respaced, and the brake bridge moved, for 130 mm.

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