Old Roots, New Routes

Where Are You Nyack?

Posted on May 14, 2013 by alchemyrider

I was in Manhattan. I had a bike. Where to go?

The most popular ride from Manhattan Island is over the George Washington Bridge to Nyack and back. About 70 km / 44 mi round trip from the bridge to Nyack. Plus another 10 km / 6 mi or so from where I was. I looked at an online route map. It seemed simple enough to get to the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. That would take me to the George Washington Bridge. Once across the bridge it was due north to Nyack. I thought there would be lots of cyclists whom I could follow. This was after all the most popular ride from Manhattan Island.

Riding along the Greenway on a Saturday morning required constant vigilance. It was a nice day, and the Greenway was clogged with pedestrians, joggers, inline skaters and tourists crossing over to heliports for joy rides over the city. And of course with other cyclists.

As expected I could see the George Washington Bridge up ahead, stretching across the East River.

I didn’t expect to come across the Little Red Lighthouse under the bridge.

I certainly didn’t expect to be 60 meters / 200 feet below the bridge. Of course the climb to the bridge deck was worth it. This is the view along the East River back towards Lower Manhattan. The border between New York and New Jersey runs down the middle of the East River.

There weren’t many cyclists to follow across the bridge and down into New Jersey. I had left it too late in the morning to get started. There was one cyclist ahead of me so I followed him. After ten minutes I realised he wasn’t going to Nyack. The route described online follows the river shoreline. You can see from the route I took that I was well west of the river as I rode north.

I had lost the rider who had been ahead of me. I saw no road signs for Nyack. Which was okay. The sun was shining. The roads were good. The towns I rolled through were pretty. Englewood, Tenafly, Cresskill, Demarest. There was a lot of German steel on the roads with me. Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche. I was clearly in a wealthier part of the world. Near the Knickerbocker Country Club I came upon little reminder of The Netherlands.

The views continued to be lovely. This is on the Tenakill Brook in Demarest.

After 40 km / 25 mi I was ready for a coffee and something to eat. As pretty as the ride was, it was time to forget about Nyack and its fabled cyclists stop, the Runcible Spoon Bakery. I had been alternately behind and ahead of a pair of cyclists for about fifteen minutes. They rolled past me again as I stopped to take this picture where the road carries us back into New York.

I hoped that they were in need of coffee too, and knew a place where we could get some. 4 km / 2.5 mi down the road we came to Piermont, and the two gentlemen in front of me pulled up at Bunbury’s Coffee Shop. Perfect!

Having tailed them for so long it was the least I could do to introduce myself. We sat together as we drank our coffees and ate our cakes. I had the chocolate zucchini almond bread. Which was possibly better than Sharif’s roti canai.

It turned out that I had chosen some interesting people to follow. One was the mayor of Englewood, who was on his first bike ride in years. He was being pulled along by a friend who was clearly a regular cyclist. And who knew the President of Hotvelociti Cycling Apparel, who joined our table. I don’t often have conversations about a USD180 million light rail project, or about the 400% increase in the cost of manufacturing clothing in China, during my coffee stops.

Their advice was to skip The Runcible Spoon Bakery, which suffers from its fame by always being very crowded. And to follow US Route 9W back to the George Washington Bridge. What they didn’t tell me was that there is 160 meters / 525 feet of climbing in the 6 km / 3.7 mi. It is a good thing that it was a big slice of chocolate zucchini almond bread!

I hooked up with another rider just as I got to the bridge. He used to live in Austin, so we had something to talk about as he guided me along an alternate route to the Greenway. I am not sure which would have been worse. All the other people on the Greenway, or the taxis, buses and trucks along Broadway and 7th Avenue. Riding a bike through Times Square was an experience perhaps not to be repeated.

I didn’t get to Nyack, but it was a very nice ride. Thank you Google.

Leave a comment

Posted in Cycling in New York and tagged Bunbury's Coffee Shop, Demarest, Englewood, George Washington Bridge, Little Red Lighthouse, Manhattan, Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, New Jersey, New York, Nyack, Piermont, The Runcible Spoon. Bookmark the permalink.

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble Part Two

Posted on May 14, 2013 by alchemyrider

“Hill Chasers” was the second installment of Van’s Rumble Cycle Challenge. We met at the VUBC shop at 7.30am to sign waiver forms and size up the competition. After a safety briefing we headed off for our first look at the track.

Amril and his band of organisers had found a closed stretch of freshly-paved road not far from the VUBC shop. All we had to do was clear away some loose stones and other rubble. It wasn’t long before we could lay down a finish line and start racing.

We were in teams of two or three riders. Each team’s result was determined by the time of the second rider across the finish line. We had so much fun charging up the hill that we decided to ride the hill twice and take the average time to determine the winning team.

Here we all are after our two runs.

Photo courtesy of Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

Then it was back to the VUBC shop where Ray worked out the final results.

Leong and his brother were a team of two, but they had enough firepower between the two of them to win overall honours. On a mountain bike and a foldie no less. Here are the happy winners with the event organisers: Ray, YC, Vanessa and Amril on the right.

Photo courtesy on Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

There was also a prize for the fastest individual. That went to a roadie.

Photo courtesy on Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

We are all now looking forward Rumble Cycle Challenge Part Three. The Scavenger Hunt on 16th June.

Leave a comment

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Hill Chasers, Rumble cycle Challenge, Van's Urban Bicycle Co. Bookmark the permalink.

Fix It Sticks

Posted on May 14, 2013 by alchemyrider

These arrived in the post while I was riding my Ritchey Break-Away around America.

In February I saw an online write-up about a new design for a bicycle multitool. The design was light, compact at 10 cm / 4 in long, and the sticks fit together in any combination to form a T-handle for your chosen bit. The article pointed readers to a Kickstarter campaign to raise the USD18,000 that would allow Brian Davis to put his invention into production.

I owned enough multitools already. But I am a sucker for gadgets and gizmos. I pledged USD45. If the fund-raising campaign was successful I would get 2 sets (4 sticks) containing a metric hex #2, #2.5 #3, #4, #5, #6, a #1 phillips and a 5mm flathead screwdriver.

963 people backed Brian to the tune of USD45,201. So my Fix It Sticks arrived in April as promised.

A pair of these sticks has replaced the Lezyne RAP 6 in my bike tool kit. I can generate more torque with the T-handle design of the Fix It Sticks than I can with the offset Allen keys of the RAP 6. I also have more control over the bit because the Fix It Sticks lock together. The Allen keys in the RAP 6 are prone to moving around because of the folding design of the tool.

You are not limited to the bits listed above. There is a large range of other bits available on the Fix It Sticks website. You can choose from 10 Torx bits, 3 square drive / Robertson bits, 3 Phillips bits, 3 slotted / flathead bits, 7 metric hex bits, 9 American hex bits, and a 1/4 inch socket drive.

These could become my favorite on-bike tools. If I bought a stick with an 8mm hex bit I would have all I need to disassemble and assemble my Ritchey Break-Away too.

Leave a comment

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Fix It Sticks, Kickstarter, Multitools. Bookmark the permalink.

Oh Happy Day!

Posted on May 12, 2013 by alchemyrider

What started in 1977 with 250 riders is today America’s largest cycling event with 32,000 riders.

I had a taste of what was to come when I went to the Bike Expo New York at Pier 36 to pick up my Tour packet and rider vest. I went on Friday morning, assuming that I would beat the crowds later in the day and on Saturday. Fail!

Fortunately the queue started moving ten minutes after I joined it. Once inside the Expo building we split by registration number and it didn’t take long to get through the identification check and to collect my packet. I wandered around the exhibitor stands, determined to keep my cash and credit card in my wallet. I succeeded, except for pulling out $5 for a sticker in support of a benefit fund for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.

I spent a bit more for a present for guess who?

I didn’t bother to pick up most of the swag on offer. Key chains, can cooler sleeves, pens, bags, that sort of thing. I did accept edibles though.

By a stroke of good fortune I was allocated the earliest of the three staggered start times. 7.45am. The other start times were 8.30am and 9.15am. I thought it best to try and get toward the front of the 10,000 or so other riders who had the same start time as I did. So I got to the start at about 6.30 am. There weren’t many people ahead of me nor behind me.

An hour later and I had been joined by just a few more riders.

It was an unseasonably cold and windy Sunday morning. New Yorkers were literally hunkered down to get out of the wind. You can’t tell from the photograph but there were goose bumps under those tattoos.

Underdressed yet again, I resorted to ducking into a porta-potty to get shelter.

Fortunately for me the ride started on time. Unfortunately for me the first 6 km / 4 mi of the ride were through the concrete, steel and glass canyon that is 6th Avenue. Where no sunlight reaches the street at that hour of the morning. I shivered and shook, wondering why I hadn’t thought of waiting in the warmth of the apartment building I was staying in and joining the ride as it rolled past the front door. It was not until I got to the open terrain of Central Park that I could aim for patches of sunshine, looking for any warmth at all.

By the time I got to Harlem in northern Manhattan I was lukewarm. Warm enough at least to get into the upbeat mood generated by the gospel choir standing on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, belting out a rousing rendition of “Oh Happy Day”.

The ride route crosses five major bridges among the islands of New York City. The Madison Avenue Bridge was the first. It connects the island of Manhattan to the Bronx, which is the only bit of mainland America in New York City.

We crossed two more historic bridges; the Third Avenue Bridge, which opened in 1898, and the Queensboro Bridge, which opened in 1909, before getting to the mandatory stop at Astoria Park.

So as not to paralyze road traffic in New York City for the entire day, the city conducted rolling street closures. I was among the group that got to Astoria Park before Shore Boulevard and 14th Street were closed to traffic. The park is at the 18 km / 11 mi point of the ride. As good a point as any to eat something. The bridge is the Robert F. Kennedy, one of the New York City bridges that we did not ride across.

As we left Astoria Park we had the Hell Gate Bridge over the East river and behind us. The gentleman to my right was on an Elliptigo. I saw one during the BP MS150 ride too. Looks like hard work!

The Pulaski Bridge carried us over Newton Creek between Queens and Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the fourth of the five New York City boroughs that the ride took us through. The Brooklyn leg generally followed the East River, past the Brooklyn Bridge and onto the Gowanus Expressway where the Hudson River empties into the Upper Bay.

Talk about saving the best for last. To get from Brooklyn to the fifth borough of Staten Island we had to cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. When it opened in 1964 this was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Just over 2 km / 1.3 mi from end to end. The only other people allowed to cross this bridge without using a motor vehicle are participants in the New York City Marathon. The crossing was spectacular, even on the lower deck.

Photo courtesy of J. Mazzolaa

The Staten Island end of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is at Fort Wadsworth. Where the finish Festival was. I had managed to get to the Festival ahead of the majority of the other riders in my start group. So there weren’t many others around us as we took in the sights at the finish and waited to be released to ride the final 5 km / 3 mi to the St. George Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry.

Many of the cyclists already at Fort Wadsworth were veterans of this event. One gentleman was riding it for the eleventh time. It became clear from talking to the experienced ones that getting to the finish quickly was key to getting back to Manhattan at a reasonable time. The waiting time for the ferry increases geometrically as more and more riders get to the Festival. It could be 4pm or later before the riders at the back of the group got on a ferry. So I was happy to be on a ferry at 11.30am. My only regret was that I chose to sit on the wrong side of the boat to see the Statue of Liberty as we passed Liberty Island.

I had a great time on what has become an iconic ride in America. It would have been just as appropriate if that gospel choir in Harlem had been singing “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.”

Leave a comment

Posted in Cycling in New York and tagged Bridges, Bronx, Brooklyn, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, Queens, Staten Island, TD 5 Boros Bike Tour. Bookmark the permalink.

Solo Saturday

Posted on May 12, 2013 by alchemyrider

My regular Saturday riding buddies had other things to do yesterday morning. So I rolled out of the D’Bayu car park in Bukit Jelutong on my own just as it was getting light. There wasn’t a lot of color in the sky as the sun came up, despite all the clouds.

I got to the motorcycle lane alongside the Guthrie Corridor Expressway before 7am. Not surprisingly the motorcycle lane was very quiet. Riding alone always gives me the opportunity to notice things that I miss while on group rides.

While I was the only cyclist on the motorcycle lane that early in the morning, this ride is a popular one. The lane is well surfaced and relatively wide. Most of the tunnels under the on and off ramps are well-lit, although there are a couple that provide an unnecessary moment of concern as you pass from bright sunlight into darkness. Especially if the tunnel comes immediately after a sharp turn.

I took the slightly longer route to Kampung Sri Kundang. Instead of taking the Jalan Kuala Selangor exit I rode further down the Guthrie Corridor Expressway to the KL – Kuala Selangor Highway interchange. This option means riding about 3 km / 2 mi along the KL – Kuala Selangor Expressway. That expressway, also known as the LATAR Expressway, does not have a motorcycle lane, but the road shoulder is wide enough to accommodate cyclists.

I left the highway at Kundang Lakes Golf Club.

From there it is a short 3 km / 2 mi to Sharif Roti Canai. Breakfast there is the reason for riding this route.

Leave a comment

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Guthrie Corridor Expressway, LATAR Expressway, Sharif Roti Canai. Bookmark the permalink.

2013 BP MS150 Day Two

Posted on May 10, 2013 by alchemyrider

Riders have the choice of three official starting points for Day One: Tully Stadium in Houston, Rhodes Stadium in Katy, and Waller Stadium in Waller. Who knows how many unofficial starting points there are. The Omni Houston at Westside was where we started. The advantage of multiple starting points is that all 13,000 riders aren’t crowded into one location. Which is the case at the Day Two start at La Grange.

If you join the pack toward the rear it can take forty five minutes or more to cross the start line once riders are released from La Grange. It was immediately clear that we had left it a bit late to wheel our bikes toward the start line. Dane reckoned he had never waited behind as many people for a Day Two start before.

BP MS150 2013 Waiting to leave La Grange Johan, MOT, Skip and Dane

Photo courtesy of Barbara Luksch

Our collective relief that is was not as cold as it had been twenty four hours earlier faded as the stationary wait stretched toward the hour mark. Our core temperatures steadily dropped along with the ambient temperature as it cooled to 10°C / 50° F just before dawn. I may have been in the pink, but I was turning blue.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Luksch

By the time we rolled over the start line I was shivering so badly that my bike was wobbling around. Once again I rued my choice of bike clothing, and was desperate for the sun to come up. This gentleman never fails to lift the spirits. He occupies the same spot every year, about 12 km / 7.5 mi from La Grange. It is worth the time to stop to listen to him play for a while. And to soak up some sunshine!

We had elected to do the Bechtel Challenge Route through Buescher State Park and Bastrop State Park. The parks had been devastated by a wildfire that swept through Bastrop County in September and October 2011. The fire damage was so significant that the Challenge route was closed in 2012. I was interested to see how different the park was compared to what I rode through in 2011. Barbara was excited and nervous about riding through the park for the first time. Tom, Skip and I did our best to convince her that she would have no problems with the hills in the park.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Luksch

Naturally there is a huge amount of damage to the loblolly pines and other trees and vegetation in the parks. These scars will remain for years to come.

In return the fire has created some beautiful vistas and opened up the visibility of the terrain. Tom and I commented that we weren’t able to see the topography the last time we rode through Bastrop State Park. At one point we found ourselves on a ridge overlooking a view that we didn’t even know existed. The park has a very different, and to my mind a better look to it. I enjoyed being able to see the road ahead winding through the trees,

We made our traditional lunch stop at Whataburger in Bastrop. Barbara was so excited at having ridden the park that she announced the fact to all at the restaurant. She was given a flower to commemorate her achievement.

The plan after the parks and Whataburger was to meet up at The Moose Lodge so we could ride the final 5km / 3mi as a group. As it turned out we regrouped at the two rest stops before Austin as well. There is always lots to see at the rest stops – besides the lines for the toilets..

We took a “Non-Hess members of Team Hess” photo at the last official rest stop before Austin.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Luksch

We met up at The Moose Lodge as planned. We missed The King though.

Everyone made it safely to the finish in Austin. Our group suffered no flat tires or falls over the two days and 280 km / 174 mi. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It was another brilliant BP MS150. I wouldn’t want to say that this was my last. After all I have a travel bike now.

The National MS Society is still accepting donations linked to this ride. The society is depending upon your generosity to raise as much as possible to put toward the search for a cure for multiple sclerosis. Please click on the link below to make a donation to this worthy cause.

Donate to Multiple Sclerosis Research and Treatment

Leave a comment

Posted in Cycling in Texas and tagged Austin, Bastrop State Park, Bechtel Challenge Route, Buescher State Park, La Grange, Whataburger. Bookmark the permalink.

2013 BP MS150 Day One

Posted on May 9, 2013 by alchemyrider

The lead up to this year’s BP MS150 ride from Houston to Austin was faultless. Barbara collected my rider pack and Hess jersey for me. Malaysian Airlines and KLM got me to George Bush Intercontinental Airport as scheduled. Tom and Donna were waiting outside Arrivals for me. The Omni Houston Hotel at Westside had my room ready. Most importantly Fedex had delivered my Ritchey Break-Away bicycle to the hotel.

The first thing to do was to put the bicycle together. My bike came with a Ritchey torque key that fits the 4mm bolts on their bars and stems, as well as the bolt on the hinged clamp that anchors the flanged joint on the down tube. Steve Dodds at Bicycle Doctor USA had told me to pack an 8mm Allen key to install the crank with. I also packed 6mm and 5mm Allen keys for the seat post and saddle mounting bolts. Four Allen keys and a pump were all I needed to get the Break-Away ready to ride.

The plan was to do the Thursday evening ride with the West End 6.30 group. That would have been the perfect shakedown ride for my brand-new bike, if not for the rain that afternoon. Instead Tom and I made do with a quick 8km / 5mi loop around Memorial Park on Friday. If that short spin was anything to go by, the Ritchey Break-Away was going to serve me very well. The ride quality was everything I expected from a titanium frame. The SRAM Force group set shifted precisely. The brakes had good modulation and stopping power. I didn’t expect problems during the ride to Austin but we stopped at West End Bicycles to get the bike inspected anyway. It is worth getting an official inspection sticker. If I did have a problem during the ride I would receive free labor for repairs.

The weather when I arrived on Thursday was unusually cool. When we started the ride from the hotel at 6.30am on Saturday morning it was unseasonably cold. It was 4°C / 39°F. That was a record low temperature for April 20th. The previous low was 6°C /44°F set in 1901.

Needless to say in my group I was probably the least appropriately dressed for the temperature. I was riding with Barbara, Laura, Dane, Joe, Skip and Tom. Everyone was cold, but I was chilled. It had warmed up by the time we got to the lunch stop at Belleville, but not enough for me to take my jacket off. Barbara and Dane kept their arm warmers on, unlike Laura and Skip.

Relatively normal temperatures for the time of year were restored by the time we got to the stop at Industry. West End Bicycles was operating their customary service stand there. Complete with yummy snacks. There was time for a post-cookie fist bump with Tom before we hit the road again.

Fayetteville is always a treat to ride through. The residents come out in force to cheer the riders on. And ring bells and blow whistles and generally carry on.

We had an additional treat in store for us at Fayetteville this year. Skip knows a lady who runs an antique store out of a converted gas station.

For MS150 day she bakes all sorts of cakes and cookies which she lays out for anyone who wants some. Not everyone knows about this though. So hooray for Skip and his insider knowledge!

We had about 30 km / 18.5 mi to go to La Grange. Dane headed out ahead of the rest of us. His plan was to get to the VFW Hall early enough to reserve prime sleeping spots for us all. We wanted a row of six camp beds near a wall socket. We all had electronics that needed recharging. We didn’t get the row we had hoped for, but we were near a coveted wall socket. This is Tom watching Dane get sorted out after their turns in the private shower truck that Hess provides for its team.

This year the Hess bar featured recovery drinks made to order. Just the ticket after a hot shower and before a massage.

We are all spoiled by the excellent support that Hess provides to its riders. Air-conditioning, private showers, indoor toilets, an open bar, ear plugs in case the snoring gets too loud. I’m not sure how we managed when we rode with other teams and had to endure conditions like this.

Tom, Skip, “Sideshow” Dane and I went for a wander around the Fayette County Fairgrounds to stretch our legs before dinner.

We had ridden 160 km / 100 mi. That made it my longest Day One in the three times I have ridden the BP MS150. I was still a bit jet-lagged and very ready to call it a day as soon as I had finished my dinner. Day Two wasn’t far away.

Donate to Multiple Sclerosis Research and Treatment

Leave a comment

Posted in Cycling in Texas and tagged Belleville, Bicycle Doctor USA, BP MS150, Fayette County Fair Grounds, Fayetteville, Hess Corporation, Houston, Industry, Ritchey Break-Away, West End Bicycles. Bookmark the permalink.

Old Roots, New Routes

Where Are You Nyack?

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble Part Two

Fix It Sticks

Oh Happy Day!

Solo Saturday

2013 BP MS150 Day Two

2013 BP MS150 Day One

Previous Posts

On the Wheel . . .

Follow Blog via Email

Follow “Old Roots, New Routes”