Seagull Century (October 4th)

Seagull Century - the last big ride of the year was finally here.  What a beautiful day for a ride.  This was just the opposite of 2 years when we rode in a middle of a storm.  I wasn't feeling good, so I quit after 20 miles, but Holly did complete the 65 miles.  She just had to ring out her clothing at each of the stops.  Not this year, it was a little windy, but I wasn't going to complain.

The ride starts at Salisbury University in Maryland.  We ended up starting at 8:30.  I would say that a lot of the other 6400 riders were already on the road.  Things were feeling good as we took it easy and rode a headwind for most of the 17 miles to the first rest stop.   After that a strong wind challenged us, but the warm sun and quiet rodes kept us motivated.

We did finish the 65 miles before 2 pm and despite not having done a lot of riding, we weren't feeling that bad.  It was just the lack of saddle time that killed us.  The good news was they had the cold beer flowing at the end, so we had a few and watched the other rides coming in.  Next Year - 100 miles?  I hope so.  

 

Quick Lewes Ride (10-3-08)

We have to do the Seagull Century tomorrow, so we needed to get out for a quick 

warmup ride.  We rode out to University of Delaware (Lewes Campus), downtown Lewes, and Cape Henlopen State Park.  We completed a quick 21 miles.

Shoo Fly Classic (September 7th)

After taking one year off, the Shoo Fly Classic was back this year.  This year, it started at the Oley Fair Grounds, so we didn't have to travel far from home.    They did have some home made baked goods at the rest stop, but they only had pizza at the end, instead of the usual feast.  We did the 40 mile route.

Donut Derby 2008 (September 1st)

The Donut Derby was upon us.   Time deducted for each dount eaten.  I was ready to ride and eager to eat those soft sugar dripping Krispy Kreme glazed donuts.  I made the mistake last year of eating too many donuts at the first stop.  This year I paced myself and only had 2.    I was hungry and ready to eat on the way back.  At mile 22, I was trying to calculate how many donuts I can consume without getting sick and ending up with the dreaded DNF.

As I rode into Bowers Park, I noticed there wasn't a lot of people around.  Than I saw the dreaded sign "No Donuts Left"... Ugh!  We did finish the race, but with a lot less calories consumed than hoped.    My DAT - (donut adjusted time) put me at 196.--> Results

Time Trials - Forest Ridge (Aug 25th)

I tried doing some time trails around my Forest Ridge development on my hyrbid. I would do 1 mile loop at the fastest I could go and than 1 mile at a slow pace. I did 6 trips in each direction for a total of 12 miles.

The fastest time going left was 3:43 and the fastest time right was 3:48.

Another Oley Ride

We had to get up early and do another morning ride in Oley, because we had a baby shower to go to in the afternoon. We saw a bunch of turkey vultures in the field. We did about 18 miles. The baby shower was at the Allentown Brew Works . There was actually a bicycle race going on that day. The race was not just outside the bar, but it went through the bar. It is called the Tour De Brew. I am thinking about joining the race next year.

Fleetwood - Kutztown Ride (Aug 23rd)

We got out early and did a quick ride past Kutztown. School was starting up, so traffic was bad. We rode about 24 miles.

Oley (August 21st)

Holly was away, so I did a ride in Oley, but I got a flat about 3 miles from home. I changed the flat no problem, but I had the wrong Co2 adaptor. Someone on a bike stopped, so and had a Co2 and adaptor. I ended up doing only 10 miles.

Thun Trail (Aug 20th)

I got out the hybrid and did about 18 miles on the Thun Trail. I rode from Reading to Birdsboro, but I couldn't find where the trail picked up again in Birdsboro, so I returned home.

Lewes Ride (Aug 17th)

Just a quick ride around Lewes. We did 17 miles.

Rehoboth to Ocean City Maryland (Aug 16th)

We parked behind the CVS at Rehoboth Beach and rode down Route 1 to Ocean City Maryland. We probably could have gone further, but the traffic in Ocean City started to get a little bit too much. We rode down past where we use to rent in Ocean City on the bay at 116th street where the Greene Turtle is.

We did a total of 46 miles and it was not bad.

Quick Fleetwood Ride (Aug 13th)

We didn't have much time during the week, but we did a quick ride out from Fleetwood towards Kutztown and back. 14.5 miles.

Preston and Payton Weekend (Aug 9-10th)

Okay, I dusted off the hybrid and did a couple of short rides with the boys. One day we went around the five points. It was a bit too bumpy for Payton. Also, I took them around the bike trail at Cape Henlopen State park. I biked to the Lewes beach so we wouldn't have too take 2 cars.

I did a total of 15 miles in the two days.

Bowers to Mertztown (July 28th)

It was a few weeks, but we got back on our bikes and did a ride to Mertztown (about 28 miles)

Vacation Week in Review

We spent 11 days at the shore, and I completed about 150 miles. The weather wasn't very cooperative at the beginning of the trip and we were doing a lot of running, so the miles for the week were a bit low. We did a couple of local trips around Lewes (first picture), a few trips to Rehoboth, and a ride over to Milton, De. We also rode the bikes to the Ferry and went to Cape May. (second picture)

Cape May was nice, but we are happy that we bought in Delaware. It is a much slower pace. We rode down to the Cape May lighthouse and ate outside at the mad batter. It was very good. I got a flat tire on the way back, so we missed the ferry.

We saw the fireworks at Rehoboth on the 4th. We took the bus from Lewes, which wasn't bad, except we missed the bus on the way back and had to wait a hour in the rain for the next one. We also went to a Delmarva Shore Birds minor league baseball game which was a lot of fun. We had great seats and got in for $5 for both of us and got 10 free Wawa coffee coupons because the game went into extra innings. We also did the Jimmy Grill's 5K in Dewey Beach. I finished in the top half. They had fried chicken and beer afterwards at 8:30 in the morning.

On the last day of the week, Holly participated in the American Cancer Society bike ride in Philly as part of the Ikon team. She did over 60 miles in less than 5 hours.

Hot Hot Hot - at least the geese got to go for a swim

They were calling for thundershowers most of the day, and it was very hot and humid, so we didn't stray far from home and we did 18 miles around Oley.

Lewes To Bethany Beach (June 20th)

Starting at our Lewes Home, we rode to Bethany Beach. We did about 43 miles. The wind wasn't bad, but we did have to fix a flat.

This picture is taken on Route 1 coming down the hill after you go over the bridge in between Bethany and Rehoboth.

Ride to Zimmerman Pool (June 12th)

Just a quick 7 mile ride to Holly's mom to go for a swim.

Mertztown Road (June 7th)

We started at Fleetwood High School and rode out to Mertztown. We completed 36 miles. The wind was a little tough coming back.

Ride to Rehoboth with Paul and Teresa

We rode out to Rehoboth Beach with Paul and Teresa. We left them at the boards and Holly and I continued on towards Bethany. On the way back, we gave them a quick tour of Lewes. Paul almost ran over a snake on the bike path. It rose its head as if was going to attack him, but it thought better of it and scurried into the woods.

Holly and I did about 36 miles and completed over 200 miles for May.

Quick Ride to Rehoboth

In the late afternoon, we just did a quick ride out to Rehoboth Beach to walk the boards. I did manage to avoid the Thrashers French Fries. We did a total of 19 miles.

We did our real exercise in the morning with our first 5K run at the Bottle and Cork bar at Dewey Beach. They had a party afterwards with Free Beer and Breakfast Food. We were happy with our times. Here are the results. We both finished in top 3/5 of the runners.

Cape Henlopen State Park and Breakwater Trail

We rode out to Cape Henlopen State Park and over to the Junction and Breakwater Trail. I was little worried about the quality of the trail and us having road bikes. But, it wasn't bad, it was about a 3 mile trail that took you out to a road which led you right into the Route 1B in Rehoboth. We are only a couple of miles from the trail. As long as you can dodge the kids and amatuer cyclists, you have easy access to Rehoboth.

We did about 28 miles with an average around 12.5.

Slaughter Beach (Saturday May 24th)

We rode from our Lewes home up Route 1 to Slaughter Beach. The wind was against us the entire way up, but it was not bad as it usually is. Whenever I forget my camera, I try and find a picture that is related to our bike ride. This is where they dump old subway cars and drop them into the ocean off slaughter beach. You can read it about here .

We did a total of 38 miles with an average around 13.

Windy Fleetwood Ride

We started at Fleetwood High School and had an easy ride out towards Premise Maid candies. We did not take the ride down the hill to the candy shop. The wind started to really pick up and it felt like it was going to rain. We headed back against a very strong wind. We had an average of 14.5 going out, but our total average for the trip ended up being only 12.8. We did a total of 31.8 miles. After a slow start to May, we have started to pick it up and it looks like we may be able to salvage the month, if the weather holds up.

Oley Ride (Thursday May 15th)

We did a quick ride from Oley UCC Church down to Daniel Boone.

Miles - 15

Velodrome Ride

We did another ride out to the Velodrome starting at the Kutztown park. It was a windy day and a little cool. We got an early start, so you almost see as many horse and buggies on the road going to church as you do cars. This church looked pretty full. Here is an Amish FAQ site to answer all of your questions.

32 Miles with an average of 13.5

Forest Ridge Ride (Wed May 7th)

Holly had to work late, so I ventured on my own from the house. This was actually last Wednesday. I am a little late posting. I rode down to main street in Oley and around our usual routes. It was a beautiful night. This picture was taken off the road back up towards our development. It is about a 3 mile climb back. This was the easy road.

The total was 18 miles and I averaged almost 13.

Ride for Rocky

I don't know who Rocky is, but he was someone's best friend. This is just a picture of a pet cemetery that we passed in Oley. This was not the same one from the Stephen King book, nor the ones that the Ramones sang about.

We started at Weis Markets. We actually met 3 guys who were parked there and they asked us if we wanted to join them. We rode down towards Daniel Boone Homestead and came back a slightly different way than usual. It was cool and we were concerned about it getting dark. We did 22 miles at a 12.9 average. This gives over 200 miles for April. Usually the 200 mark is reserved for the Summer Months only.

The one guy was 73 years old and he kicked our butt. It turns out they are with a larger group and they call themselves the "half fast" club. I gave them my email address and they said they would let us know about future rides.

Ride to the Velodrome

We started at Kutztown Park and rode out to the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. We actually did most of the Donut Derby in reverse without the donuts. What is a Donut Derby? It is race sponsored by Lehigh Wheelman on Labor day where you get reduction in your overall time for every donut you eat. We did it last year. I ate 6 donuts. The most was 19.

But on this day, it was cool with a decent wind. We ended up with about 24 miles and an average of 13.6. I did end up with the most miles ever for April with 181 since I started by Bike Log over 10 years ago.

Dryville Hill

It was that time. We had to see what kind of shape we were in. We rode up the dreaded Dryville hill. It is about 4 miles up hill. We rode to the Dryville Inn and back to Holly's mom house. We only did 10 miles, but it was a good strength ride.

Oley Daniel Boone Ride

We started at the Oley UCC Church and rode down to Daniel Boone Homestead. Holly and I rode a similar route over 8 years ago on our first date.

This ride has more hills, but we did clock in at 13.4 average for about 16 miles.

Caught in the Rain

One of those days with sun one minute and rain the next. We rode from our Lewes house to Cape Henlopen State Park. Of course, when we the furthest away, we had a heavy downpour. It did not last long and we got back without any problem. 16 miles. I won't talk about the average.

Ocean to Bay Bike Ride

Beautiful weather and very light winds made for a great Ocean to Bay ride. We arrived early and actually had to wait for registration to open. We averaged about 14.2 for 35 miles. We actually added an extra 6 miles at the end. We regretted not doing the 50 mile ride. We rode up route 1 from Bethany to Fenwick Island and moved inland on Route 54. From there it was miles of country and quiet roads. Our second rest stop was up at Holts Landing National Park. We rode the final 10 miles east through Millville and back to Bethany Beach.

I did get a flat caused by a large nail. I replaced the tube, but I didn't have a pump. A cyclist stopped and helped. He was from Bethany Cycle - they have 2 shops in Bethany and Rehoboth. Please support them if you are in the area.

Well, we are off to beach to relax. There will be pictures shortly.

Another Oley Ride

Our first real hot day of the year and we were able to average 14.0 MPH for about 18 miles. We rode the modified version of the Pedal and Pig out ride swinging by "lake oley" and back to Weis Markets.

This will be our last ride before the Ocean to Bay Ride in Bethany. Weather is suppose to be warm on Saturday.

Kutztown Park

On Tax Day, we started at the Kutztown Park and rode out to Merztown and back. We clocked in at 14.2 average for a total of 15.5 miles. It seems that our strength is coming along well. The only question is stamina and are we ready for 35 miles on Saturday.

Oley - Pedal and Pig Out Route

Yesterday, Thursday April 10th, we rode the usual Berks County Bike Club - Pedal and Pig out ride. We clocked in about 13.7 avg for about 19 miles. We did well except for the hills at the end.

Bowers Ride

Another long layoff because of the weather, but we had a little bit of sunshine and some half decent temperature, so we headed out to Bowers from Fleetwood high school. We completed 20 miles at an average of 13.5.

We took a ride by Bowers park, because it is only 150 days until the 13th annual Chili Pepper Festival.

It is not spring yet

Our last ride in March was very cold and windy. We started at Holly's mom house and took our usual route out towards Bowers. We clocked in at a 12.5 average, and considering the wind that wasn't bad. I saw this tractor pulling a caboose and thought it was cool. We have a ride in Bethany in less than 2 weeks. I hope it warms up by than and we are ready.

Back to Fleetwood

Back to our old traditional ride from Fleetwood High School out towards Bowers. The wind was fairly strong and the air was cool. I, also, have a dozen more excuses too numerous to mention to try and justify our 12.5 average for 18 miles. Oh well, beginning of the season. As long as I am not saying the same thing in September.

Llamas were going faster than us

We rode starting from the UCC Church in Oley and rode up Covered Bridge Road. We rode about 11 miles at 13 avg., which wasn't bad for first time out. I stopped to say "hi" to a couple of llamas, but they weren't that friendly and scurried in the opposite direction.

Overall, not a bad start for our PA rides.

Lewes Trip (Jan 13th)

We decided to take it easy and rode to downtown Lewes and around the inlet. We took a break and watched this wind surfer at the bay beach.

Total Miles = 18

Bethany - Ocean City (Jan 12th)

We completed the trip to Ocean City. We started in Bethany and rode the wind to Seacrets.
We decided to forgo the drinks and head back against the very strong wind.

Total Miles = 23

Lewes To Milton (Jan 6th)

We took the bikes from our Lewes Home up Route 1 and headed west towards Milton. I got my first flat of the year and did not have my pump with me, so I waited for Holly outside the Iguana bar/restaurant. It looked like a nice place for a quick bite or that it could be a happening place in the summer time. It has outdoor sitting.

Rehobeth to Bethany (Jan 5th)

Our First Bike Ride of the Year. We got bundled up and took the bikes to Rehoboth Beach. We rode along route 1 down to Bethany Beach. We stopped in Bethany for hot cider and tea.

Total Miles = 25