Go Hard or Go Get Breakfast

"The surf is nonexistent," said Frank, and I had to agree. With a day at the office on Saturday ahead, and a long day at Fordham on Sunday,  and not anywhere near enough time to exercise in the schedule I figured I try to get a good ride in before breakfast, before coffee and before a shower.

Not being a morning person, but more of a nightbird, I was not sure how that would fly with my body.

I set out to do a modest ride, but found myself attacking every hill in Sands Point, going down toward the water, and back up. And some others, that go up and then down.

Amazingly the body complied and kept up a reasonable 12.4 moving average even with the scads of steep hills that brought me down to a tortoise-like pace.

You'd have thought there would be plenty of opportunity to make up speed on the downslopes, but the there was plenty of tree debris on the ground for this time of year.

At one point I took a right corner too canted over ... "fc@k!" I hear myself yipe as the front wheel skipped out to the left as it popped and shot out an acorn like a bullet, nearly washing out in the process.

A little later, I took on Hilldales' steep descent — the kind of descent at my age you hope you have it in you to get back up. The speedy descent terminates at gravel path that fades into a chained of beach path. Nearly washed out again  -- there's no cornering on grapnel that large. I used MTB skills to come to a halt on the grass verge on the edge of the wetlands.

Fun ride. A real lung buster had triggered an EIA attack of coughing and wheezing for the next couple of hours. That's the price up upping the distance 40% instead of 10%, and definitely upping the intensity with a few PRs, and some uphill sprints that got the blood flowing.

Finally surf and ... a porpoise. No, not with a purpose, with a porpoise!

So, 6:20 am. In a state for craving a little overdue surf time. Even with a neck ache it was going to be.

Just the right size surf for SUPsperimentation

I check the L.I. buoy 20 miles offshore, and then Lincoln Ave. Long Beach cam.

Buoy: swell 2.3 ft per 6+ secs
Cam: Glass.waves. 3 surfers out already.

I ejected myself from bed like a pilot from a burning fighter plane.

Forget the "loo," forget the coffee, forget food, forget Starbucks, forget everything ... just get there before the booth pass checkers arrive at 8. (correction, they arrived at 9...but earlier was better)

Put on the wetsuit at home, to be prepared to roll on arrival, and drive.

Today's vehicle of choice for SUP, prone, and knee-surfing

7:30 I'm at Mustangville board in hand ready to go.

Note the surfer carrying a small fish board in-between the red flags

Can't believe my luck. How can this be? I have perfect little knee-to-rib high, glass-off waves, with the best ones peeling left off the jetty at Mustangville. Only a couple of other surfers out on the next jetty. Nobody got the memo I guess, but last night — final pre-bedtime check — seeing a forecast of light E wind in the a.m. told me there would probably be a little surfable swell by dawn.

A swell height of 2.3 ft at the buoy was more of a gift than I expected, and it delivered just the right mix for a "in-my-dreams" easy day to surf SUP this new board.

But it wasn't that easy. Wasn't easy at all.

I'm still getting used to the 9'6 Fanatic Allwave SUP, and while it feels it has the volume, there was more than enough kooking-out going on in my department to embarrass even the most loyal friends. But the were spared, since they were all AWOML (absent without Mustang's leave). snoozing or scattered to other spots.

Great cycling day in LB for a lot of folk.
The street is mostly back but the city needs a lot
more work.Still plenty of closed businesses.

The climbing back aboard and paddling around for waves got to be quite the workout —this never happens Supping on the bay -- not unlike a bike ride, until I settled into a groove. and calmed down a bit.

Finally caught a wave that made the struggle it worthwhile. Though I'm not sold on the big stinkbug wide stance you need with these goliath boards...but it's either that or a dunking, so ... wideum-styleum it is.

SO, as I paddle in a big loop around for the next set, I see something round and black doing some kind of slithering, rotating hump movement in the ocean about 100 yards further out. "Holy cow! that looks like a freaking porpoise or small whale."

I figure I must have imagined it -- maybe it was a piece of chop.
But there was no chop at that point. Only glass-off and swells.
Woah!

A few strokes later, looking out to sea, and sure enough the large black thing surfaces again, in a round, revolving humpiness, then slips back again under water.

Paninis and Bikinis is still dishing out
ridiculously smorfable
nosh. Sidewalk eating area open.

I think I see what looks like a tail fluke, but NO fins. Good! So my guess remains a
porpoise or a small whale, not the graysuit fellas.

Can't wait to hear if there were any other sightings reported today ... he, she or it, was headed toward Lido beach and Jones Beach.

Another surfer who came to the shoreline to check the waves, whistled and waved his hands over his head and pointing out to sea.

Yes, I shouted, deafly into the impossible distance. Then, ... holding my arms fully outstretched, paddle in hand, I gesticulated back to him the universally understood sign language for "it was THIIIIIIIIS
GINORMOUSLY BIIIIIIG."

Just wow, what an experience.

I wanna do that again. mmmm mmmm yeah. Hope my neck does not act up as a result -- that was really quite the workout.

Sooo crowded today ... as summer winds down with a cool early morning
dip in the surf.

Loved that ride...

Had to drag my ass out to do this one, but it was certainly worth it. Lotsa fun.

What I really wanted to do was SUP! But with my local bay a polluted cesspool of bilge, pesticides and sewage overflow, that was out of the question.

What I really wanted were clean knee-high long period waves on the south shore, but the wind was blowing just hard enough onshore to make the 1 foot of leftover swell a total mess.

The 6 am Sunday getup I missed after another 6-day week of long and late. The neck herniation was also still kicking. There is a limit and my body had reached it.

So after one last surf check I decided to bike.

Bike of the day. Note the stem for my neck issues, but
with short, T-Rex arms, this still allows aero positioning
for my body type. 

I grabbed the MTN bike and lined her up.

Went inside, suited up, got my inhaler, drink, pack, helmet and gloves together and ... went down into the basement grabbed the road bike instead! What's going on here.

Yep the last 4 rides were MTB ... I needed a different ride and a different route. And the roadie has been calling.

How would the lower bars of the roadie work with the neck?

I checked the setup -- they were both pretty close. Pumped up the tyres to 125 psi and hit the tarmac. Feeling good so far.

Wow, the first hill, sprint nearly all the way up!  What a difference the 32lbs MTB vs. the 16 lb roadie, which just wants to go. And go, and go.

It picked off a left turn at Harriman/Tideway, and I'm thinking, "What am I thinking!? This is going to be a longer and harder ride than planned if I take this detour and add in this hill. But the descent was too alluring.Memo to self. Need to do a mechanical review and tighten up.

Focus, pay attention, there's no margin for error here with all the ruts and cracks and holes in the road. sticks in the spokes and sand and grit round out the remainder of the hazards. That, and the possibility of over-cooking a turn, catching the pedals or washing out. and the rides here are full of opportunities to lean it over like a race bike on fast flat or downhill 90 degree turns.

Another big difference is cutting out the stops. The only ones I remember were for red lights in dangerous places and a dropped chain mechanical.

This was fun.

Feeling the force, I decided to not dawdle at Lighthouse, although the Manhattan skyline in the lowering sun was clear and spectacular. Memo -- get a real camera out here sometime.

So I went for the sprint and the fastest time and the KOM all in one. Not sure I made it, but it was good...until I crested the turn onto Middleneck, and found myself grinding and spinning the rest of the way like a tortoise going for a leisurely stroll in a hamster wheel, huffing and puffing up the next half mile.

The recovery from the short Cat 5 was good, however, and the ride up along a previous grind climb was a breeze compared with past rides.

Elm to Shorewood was a blast, with another uphill sprint. And finally after the descent to Harbor Rd, the next two hill sprints were maximum fun, well except for where I petered out on the first climb after Harbor Rd. I will knock that one out with a sprint some day, but there's still a ways to go, for now.

Belmont Lake State Park: Fordham new students & alumni picnic

Q: There is a lake -- is it SUP able? Is it worth SUPing if permitted? 

Ans: I don't know, and, well, yes, maybe.

We'd driven past the Belmont Lake S.P. exit hundreds of times and wondered, "what is it like in there?" And the answer," quite pleasant. A relatively quiet park to barbecue and chill, with a boating lake and a few easy bikeable paths. Pedalo boats and row boats if you are so inclined — and who can resist pedalo boats?

The right amount of shade to stay cool in mid-August, wait, it was a
cool low-80s F early September like day,  anyway

There's even supposed to be trout in the lake for fishing, but I can't imagine there are too many around in there.

It would be a fun lake to SUP in, across, around, and in between the islands on glass smooth water, but I imagine the boat concession probably has an exclusive arrangement with the State. Still ... there's the offseason to explore, perhaps.

Today the lake was busy with about 20 boats on it by 2 p.m. if I were a trout, I'd be hunkered down in a quiet corner, with all that traffic on the water.

For our barbecue, however, we were blessed with a dry, post-cold front day and a light breeze to keep things at just the right temperature and humidity for summer.

Pine Lodge, among the oaks, of course, new students and
parents from Long Island get to chat with Alumni Office
staff, volunteers and students about the year ahead.

We didn't do a full recce, but I'd definitely give it a try for some relaxed family-style biking, though I wonder whether there are some gems hidden in there, judging by the park's self-description:

Carll's Creek stretches 4.2 miles south to the Great South Bay with a trail for hiking, biking, and horseback riding along most of that distance. The 42-acre Belmont Lake is encircled by a similar path, making a total of 7.6 miles of multi-use trails. Paddle boats are available for rent on the lake through the summer.

The park's significant natural features include the 26-acre, spring-fed Belmont Lake and a significant wetland complex. The lake provides springtime trout fishing and summer bass fishing for the avid anglers who use the park. It is home to permanent and migratory waterfowl populations. Park visitors enjoy watching Osprey diving from high above to catch fish for their young in the spring. Other waterfowl that can be easily spotted include Northern Shovelers, Mergansers, Teal, Great Blue Heron, and Egrets.

Patrons enjoy activities such as picnicking and using the various game courts and fields. The lake attracts trail walking, fishing and non-motorized boating. The 7.6 miles of trails throughout the park are available for hiking, walking, biking, horseback riding, nature observation and weather permitting, cross-country skiing.

Special events such as the Holiday Tree Lighting, Egg Hunt, and Fishing Expo draw the highest attendance on non-holiday weekends.

- See more at: http://www.nysparks.com/parks/88#sthash.XrMGnXXE.dpuf

aced it!

News flash!  Map My Ride does not capture all the ascents and descents in a ride, and of the ascents that it does capture, it doesn't even capture half of them correctly. Nor the calories like Garmin, but my Garmin was out of commission, so MMR's cell phone app was plan B.

But Nvrmnd; we never even dreamed of this  technology until recently, so even with its quirks,  it's still fun.

Somewhere in there is an ascent MMR missed but which was a landmark for me. It was in the woods where the GPS signal is weakest.

I'd gone down the right fork of the trail to the playing fields, wondering "what am I thinking, I'm beat, and I'm going to have to go up the beast!"  Neither Gordo nor I have ever aced the beast before; it's steep it's rooty, and the root-steps just stop you in your tracks.

But today I said "what the hey, let's go for it anyway" and hit it with even more speed and gusto, with lungs and legs bursting.

The first ride down had included a stop for dips on the parallel bars at the bottom of the trail, and a right diversion out of respect for a German Shepherd doing his poopy, but the detour took me up a vertical section (that previously I'd only descended, tight rooty and steep [that little root "wall" I did not make today but I think it has to be attempted in the future, and often]) and into more challenging climb territory.

I was barely moving when I turned hard right up the side trail, and accelerated breathlessly into the singletrack. There was the "root of all trouble," waiting defiantly.

And over a little to the right side of the single track,"there" was the line, the spot to hit with spped to  bank left over the obstacle that had made this part of the steep upslope a rest/and/foot climb spot until today.

The front wheel tracked round the desired line perfectly, and the back wheel dug its way over as I applied max power to the pedals. Now it was a matter of sustaining the grind all the way to the top, and not hitting any dumb momentum killers.

I think that's the hardest I've breathed since that 4.0 day.  Nope...it was a lot harder than that, even.

Good practice for Godzilla at Bethpage; time for a revisit soon.