Ride to Bushwick and back

Back in July, I had to do some bike and home repairs at Julia's place in Brooklyn, so here are a few pictures of the ride. I think this might be the first time I was on the Williamsburg bridge, which I really enjoyed. The Williamsburg bridge makes me want to yell "HAWD CAW!" So much fun. Lots of young people looking so hip and beautiful and smart.

I had to go slowly because I was carrying about 25 pounds of tools and supplies. No matter. The weather was fine, and I enjoyed it as much as I would have if I were going fast.

This is my ride route from home to her Julia's.

This is my route route back home.

Busy day!

I walked the dog three times and did some errands on foot. I used two bikes, my Volpe for going to the doctor and my Raleigh track bike for going to the races, racing, and getting home from the races. I got on the bike -- or a bike -- a total of eight times.

1. To the doctor, on my "SUV" through streets.
2. To the races
3. Race 1
4. Race 2
5. Race 3
6. Race 4
7. From the races to the subway.
8. From the subway to home.

I was very tired and sore by the 7th ride and even more so on the 8th. I rolled home very slowly and could barely move by the time I got home.

First training ride

I never rode to train before. It sounded so boring and painful. I started yesterday. Here is the route.

Here is a more extensive description of what I'm up to: Track racing, part zero

Terrible conditions, great ride

I haven't ridden much lately. I've taken some errands but not logged them.

I lost my computer for a month and a half. My wife found them in the pocket of a jacket that was in the donation pile. Whoops. Well, I have it back, and that's good.

It's been two weeks, maybe more for me. Felt great.

TL;DR: conditions were awful. Great ride anyway.

LINK to route

Boring details:

It was 23ºF, not 27º which is what Garmin claims. Also, it was snowing. I rode almost to the top of Mohonk. Visibility was poor, but the scenery was gorgeous anyway. Traffic was light and courteous. My pump is leaking like crazy, so I was only able to go to about 40 psi, but that was OK.

I wore enough clothes. On top: Wool sweater-vest, then cotton T-shirt, then sweater then rain jacket. On legs: cycling tights, then wool trousers. On feet: two pairs of wool socks, one of them up to the knee. Cycling shoes which are really running shoes with SPD cleats. On face: olive oil, then carpenter's goggles, rear view mirror, scarf around neck, another scarf around head, helmet. On hands: giant winter mittens stuffed with down.

I am pretty surprised at how comfortable I was. I put duct tape over the toes of my shoes to prevent cold toes. It worked, or at least it didn't make me cold. I was not cold at all. My hands were hot and sweaty. I couldn't find a hat to wear under my helmet, so I tied a scarf around my head, with the knot in the back. I looked like I had a big braid in back.

As you can see, I didn't go far, but it was good to pedal hard on the bike for a short while. The climbing was what you might call tough, and the grade might have been 6% at its worst, but I felt like I could go on for hours.