Bike-commute day 58—to work

Monday, 25 July 2011.

Soon after I dropped down to the bikeway from Monument Avenue Bridge, I spied a group of three cyclists some half mile ahead of me, on the upstream side of Riverscape. A pack of rabbits! I thought as I increased my cadence to chase them down. As long as they don't take the zig-zag up to the Green Bridge, I'll catch them in a bit, I bet.

They went along the Mad River (Good, they're heading my way) as I passed under the pavillion at Riverscape, and further along crested the small rise at Keeowee as I passed below the zig-zag. I checked my time, to measure the distance between us when I reached the same point. (One minute, twelve seconds.) They held a 55-second lead at the curve before the dip below Findlay Avenue, and it seemed I had lost sight of them entirely at the plateau above that dip. But as I curved into the straightaway by the water pumping stations, I saw them again momentarily, dropping into the level above the concrete embankment below the firefighters' training camp. (Nice. Thirty-eight seconds.) As I entered Eastwood Park, I again caught a glimpse of one of the trio, before he slipped into the rockwork train trestle. (Twenty-three.)

I followed him through the trestle, and saw the same cyclist stepping out of the saddle at the FiveRivers maintenance shed. Probably ready to start work soon, and he could count the ride as an inspection of the bikeway. I continued along Springfield Street, crossed at the intersection with Smithville, and saw the remaining two cyclists crossing Smithville as I navigated the weaving bikeway along the creek.

Just after I also crossed Smithville, I reached close enough to hear them conversing, done for the moment with intensity in their ride. The rear rider noticed me as they slowed for the Park Row crossing, and he said "Clear" for my benefit.

As I passed, I said, "On your left. Thanks there, and good morning."

They made no attempt to match my speed, and the last I saw them was at the meadow around the former Multi-Service building, when they entered the clearing and I left it.

Housekeeping
Lots of fallen twigs and walnuts needed careful steering for the half mile between Airway and Burkhardt. About a mile further on, a fallen tree across the bikeway required a stop and step over the trunk.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 71 to 75°F at 07:20
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:06 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 132 bpm HRave, 148 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 17 pedestrians, 3 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 49—to work

Thursday, 7 July 2011.

Gaggles of geese gathered at the water's edge below Riverscape this morning. They must have been spooked still by the fireworks, because they scattered easily with flapping wing swaps as I approached. Perhaps it also helped that I hissed in my exertion to pass quickly to my first checkpoint.

Along the Mad River, I began to recognize my lower energy level, probably due to my late bedtime last night. Even noticing a "rabbit" rider ahead at the Findlay Avenue bridge didn't elicit a chase. When I did catch him, west of Eastwood Park, I asked if he was going to work, and he puffed out an answer, "No; riding to Xenia."

I rode on until I saw Gladys and Millie in shades of pink emerging from the DPL canopy, on their way to Burkhardt Road. Somebody's going to kiss me! I thought when I saw the pink hues. When I stopped to report my thought to them, Gladys smooched an air kiss my way. The Xenia-bound cyclist passed us, and that was my reason to return to the commute. I reached him again still north of where the Iron Horse trail splits from the Creekside, and we spoke a little about our typical riding activities.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 67 to 72°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:42:58 for 11.94 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 7 cyclists, 9 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 19—to gym and home

There's nothing like the challenge of a rabbit to make a bike ride interesting. Almost at the same moment I wondered Why does my heart rate seem to be so slow? ahead of me at a curve I noticed a bit of yellow-red movement. It disappeared, and I was intrigued to see the colors again. My speed increased, and soon my heart rate began to climb above 134. I saw the yellow-red again as the course straightened: Yes, another rider leading me on the way. It wasn't at that moment only one, but two riders approaching the crossing at Airway Boulevard. One was the yellow-red kit, the other had a darker red appearance. Still perhaps a half mile ahead, they crossed together, and it was only as the colors separated more that I realized the yellow-red was the faster, the overtaker. The rabbit.

As I approached Airway, traffic caused a precious wait, instead of a mere stop. Both riders ahead passed the curve and drop toward the former Multi-Service plant. Once clear of traffic, I crossed the four-lane street and a set of pedestrians on the crossing sidewalk. I passed the curve and drop where I had last seen the riders just as another pair of riders who had been riding toward me left the bikeway through the access to Wright View. I caught a glimpse of the two riders ahead, and they had separated by perhaps 150 feet. The red rider had yet to reach the 90-degree corner beyond the Multi-Service plant, and the yellow-red rider had reached the tunnel formed by the canopy of trees along the bikeway.

I passed the red rider, a sporty-looking woman, before we reached the tunnel-canopy, and I saw the yellow-red rider still ahead, just negotiating the turn out of the tunnel. Now our separation was holding at about 150 feet, each of us well matched. But north of Fairpark Avenue, he must have tired a bit in the next stretch of canopy and I had a renewed burst of stamina, in which my HR rose to the ride's maximum of 146 bpm. I approached as close as 15 feet before he crossed Smithville, and I passed him in the middle of the weaving bikeway that passes from Smithville to Springfield Street. At that intersection, he pulled onto Springfield Street and continued east toward Wright-Patterson airbase, while I pulled into Eastwood Park as a connector to the Mad River Bikeway.

Awww, I was hoping to get a chance to greet and meet as we rode together into Dayton. Disappointed but still full of energy, I continued on with greater speed than usual, up to the point of jogging over to East Monument Street to bypass the flooded bikeway adjacent to the Mad River.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 62 to 68°F at 17:49
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the north
Clothing: skinsuit; ankle socks. open-finger gloves.
Bike: Trek 850 hybrid
Time: 01:00:31 for about 16 miles
HR 132 bpm average, 146 bpm maximum
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, ~15 pedestrians
4th Garmin day. Playback.