Epic Bicycle Trip

Rode to Franklin today, including "the hill." The ride in took about 30 minutes; the ride home took about 60 minutes. I actually had a purpose today - I strapped the paniers on my bike and picked up a few grocery items for my wife. I'm trying to decide if this ride is a good one; on the one hand, I want to be able to ride to town whenever I want. On the other hand, the traffic is pretty steady and I'm not sure if breathing all of that carbon monoxide is good for me. Total distance 13.35 miles.

Today I only had a few hours to ride so I decided to just ride to Franklin. This ride takes me through the village of Galloway via 417. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the shoulders of the road are in great shape, I felt pretty safe doing the ride in spite of the traffic. I stopped at the top of the Rocky Grove hill, so technically I didn't make it all the way to Franklin. This is a challenging ride due to the hills, and I've decided I'm going to use this more often when I am only doing a short ride.

Today we took another leisurely ride, this time to Fisherman's cove. We left from the Belmar parking area, and the ride to the Cove road was about 4.5 miles. It didn't take us long, so on the return trip we continued past the parking area, across the Belmar Bridge , and on to the Sandycreek Tunnel, then back. Total trip was about 14 miles.

Wife and I took a ride together today; we rode the Oil Creek trail, which I rode on 8/20/16 . Of course we took it slower - average speed 9 MPH - and when we got to Drake Well Park , we decided to continue via the Queen City Trail into downtown Titusville . We visited the park in Titusville and enjoyed some refreshments while sitting in the gazebo. On our way out of Titusville my wife's pack came loose from her bike; we didn't discover the loss until we reached the Drake Well parking lot, so I got a "sprint" in; I rode back the entire Queen City Trail length into Titusville hunting for the pack. Fortunately I was able to find it, and nothing was missing. Total distance: 28.6 miles Max. speed: 26 MPH Average speed: 9 MPH Total Time: just over 3 hours, but we stopped several times on this trip.

I finally got a "major" (for me) ride in today, riding from Franklin to Emlenton on the Allegheny River trail. The ride turned out to be just a bit more of an adventure than I had originally anticipated. All was well until I got to the first tunnel . The tunnel is nearly a mile long and has a large curve in the middle, so you literally can't see "the light at the end of the tunnel." I forgot my glasses have transition lenses, and when I hit the tunnel at 15 mph, I went from bright sunlight to total blackness faster than I could adjust. The result was that, for the first time in a long time, I went over the handlebars. Ouch. I also learned that I really, really need to "upgrade" my headlight. The next adventure is a short stretch of this trail that requires looping up onto a poorly maintained dirt road to avoid a contested piece of real estate. The road was pretty washed out and provided a challenging ride. I was glad I had a mountain bike cro

I did the entire Oil Creek bike trail today, from Oil Creek State Park to Drake Well . Not a long ride (just 18 miles) but a good one.

I got up early and did a 25 mile ride today. I remembered to "tank up" on water before I left. My plan today was to try for a little more speed. Unfortunately, I haven't been as regular as I would like with my riding, and I chose to leave before breakfast and I didn't eat anything before the ride, so I ended up "bonking" pretty bad about a quarter mile before I finished; but I did manage to finish. Along the way I saw some amazing scenery, including one stretch of road where both sides of the road were lined with wildflowers - chicory, Queen Anne's Lace, ditch daisies, and clover - that looked like someone had planted them on purpose.   My ride took me through Chapmanville, a small village with ties to my family (my cousin lives there.) - history snippet below. STATS 25.73 miles 2.094  hours Average Speed 11.9 MPH CHAPMANVILLE. This village is situated on the Oil creek road, the shortest route between Meadville

Today I rode the tandem to Two Mile Run Lake with my grandson as co-pilot and second source of power. Not a long ride, but it was good to be on a bike and my grandson seemed to enjoy it.

So, I managed a 25 mile ride today, which included a pass through Plum Corner. I have not found any historical information on Plum Corner, so not sure what the story is on this community; today there is not much there.

So, my route for my planned trip will include trails in the Erie to Pittsburgh trail network, the Allegheny Valley Trails network, the Great Allegheny Passage , and the C And O Trail . Erie to Pittsburgh and Allegheny Valley Trails Great Allegheny Passage and Cumberland (C&O) Trails I found this site that offers an organized tour style ride, which may be of interest to me, especially for my first time riding the trail. This is a six day tour and does the segment from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.

Today I rode through the village of Sunville, past Wright Road (my previous turning point.) Bridgeview Road was closed (apparently the bridge mentioned in the name is out. The next road I could turn on took me via a rather circuitous route to Bradleytown , named, apparently,  for John G. Bradley , a man with a series of apparently unlucky wives. It's really been fun riding through some of these little local communities and learning a little history along the way! My Time was a little over an hour and a half My distance was 17.92 miles My average speed was 11.4 MPH - I wasn't pushing it much on this ride. So, if I can stay above 10 MPH average, and I ride for 5-6 hours per day, I'll cover 10 miles a day - not too great. I'm trying to decide if I can really do the whole 465 mile trip in one shot. My current estimation is that it would take 10-14 days minimum. Of course, I have a year and a half to improve my speed and stamina...

Back in the hotel, rode for an hour on a stationary bike in the fitness center. Better than nothing, I guess...

So, I've missed a few days on my training schedule, but was back in the saddle today. It's interesting, the things you see from a bicycle that you miss from a car. Today I rode out the Sunville Road all the way to ... wait for it... Sunville! I've traveled this road many times in my life, but never noticed the sign at the edge of the village of Sunville. It made me curious to know the history of this place, which now is just a couple of houses and a little-used crossroads. What used to be here that warranted giving the place a name? My ride ended up being 15 miles, and I felt like it went well. My speed wasn't that great, but there were a couple of large hills on this ride. My left knee was feeling a little stressed, so I didn't push myself too hard - I don't want to injure anything this early on! I did end up going 1:1 on a couple of the hills. Distance: 15.34 miles. Average speed: 11.1 (not so good... ) Time: 1:23:16.    

My "ride" last night was accomplished in the fitness center of my hotel in New York. I averaged 14.4 MPH for 45 minutes, total "distance" of 10.2 miles on a stationary recumbant bike.

Today my wife and I visited the Allegheny River Trail today. My wife is not as "speedy" as I am (ha ha) so we rode 5 miles down the trail together, and then she rested while I did a 2.5 mile "power ride." So, by the time we rode 5 miles together, and I rode 2.5 miles and back solo, and then we did the 5 mile return trip, I got my 15 miles in, and got a little bit of a workout at least. Thanks to my wife for "indulging" me.

Part of my "training" is exploring the little country roads and lanes in my immediate vicinity, learning different routes I can take to extend my ride, where the hills are, etc. Today I took yet another slightly different route. The distance ended up being 14.3 miles: This route had some hills, and it felt like I had a head wind all the way! My average speed only ended up at 10.6 MPH. Still, I managed to keep it above 10. I did have to go to 1:1 for two very long, steep hills, but I tried to make up some time on the downhills and more level areas. Of course, for every uphill there is a downhill; they never feel very long but my maximum speed on this ride was 42 MPH - which could be why the downhills feel so short. My strokes max out at about 35 MPH on my crossover bike, so the last 7 MPH is coasting with momentum LOL. My total time was 1:20:43. I'm OK with that. My current goals are: Increase average speed to 15 MPH (that might take

Took a different route today. Thought it would be longer, but interestingly, it wasn't - much. Distance:10.87 miles Average Speed: 12.3 miles Time: 52.53 minutes

Today's Ride: Same course as before Average speed 11.8 MPH Time 45:03 minutes So, I improved the time and the average speed. On the "big hill" I had to go to 2:1 (but at least I avoided 1:1) I was deliberately trying to improve speed, so the ride was a success in that respect. My quads are definitely my biggest problem - the burn is still getting so bad I am forced to slow down and ease up at certain points in the ride.

So, my ride a few days ago was just a "warm up." Today was my first "official" training ride. I rode the same course I did last time. I made it up the "big hill" on the second chain ring, second sprocket (so, went from 1:1 to 2:2) My average speed was   10 .5 MPH. (improved) My total distance was   8.755 miles (about the same, obviously.) My total time was   50 minutes 16 seconds (this time my chain didn't come off LOL) I'm on my way!

So, I have a new goal for biking. I'm going to ride the Erie to Pittsburgh trail, which passes through my hometown, to Pittsburgh; then I'm going to ride the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland; and finally, I'm going to ride the Cumberland Trail to Maryland. I have one year to prepare for this trip, and I'm starting now. Today I did a "test ride." The weather was fair (for March) and I was able to ride about 8.5 miles, including a few significant hills. My average speed was about 9 MPH but the entire trip still took me about 1.05 hours. There is a very large hill on this ride and I had to go all the way down to my #1 Chain Ring and my #1 sprocket for the entire distance of the hill. Goal #1: Ride this hill in something hire than 1:1. Goal #2: Increase average speed to 10 MPH (consistently.)