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.