Tie Goes to the Dealer

Distance: 20.7 mi.

Time: 0:58:58

Avg. speed: 21.06 mph

Weather: 78-81º, 68-58% humidity, wind WNW 2-4, sunny

July mileage total: 614 miles.

Song stuck in head: Minor Character - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

MAINTENANCE:

Replaced rear brake cable and guide this morning, easier to do than I thought it would be. Downloaded a pdf from the Shimano website which helped a lot. The old cable was pretty corroded as it passed through the guide that transits the seatpost – probably from the water the rear wheel kicks up.

Also put new rear brake pads on and completely cleaned the caliper. Adjusting the Kool Stop pad holders is a pain in the butt but worth it as you can set a perfect toe-in with them. A little cable pre-stretch after I reassembled everything and I was ready to ride.

RIDE:

By this time it was kind of late to do any kind of longer ride but I felt the need to push hard so I decided to do my 20 mile-ish "TT". I warmed up for the usual 15 minutes but this time made sure I did a few jumps and short sprints to get those type II muscles fully awake.

Performance goals for the ride: keep cadence at around 100 rpm, stay as aero as possible.

I crossed the start doing 23 mph in the drops and kept my speed over 20 until the Pompositicutt hill where it only dropped to 17 over the top. I made it to waypoint 1 (Red Acre and S. Acton) in 11' 15", a personal record. Continuing along S. Acton and onto Boxboro Road, I hit waypoint 2 (Boxboro and Taylor) in 19' 30", again a PR.

I was a bit worried as I climbed the first hill on Boxoboro that I had once again started off too hard and fast but the thought faded away as I felt strong over the top. Even though I was on the bar tops as I climbed, I kept my upper body as low as possible and cadence well into the 90 rpm range.The incline past the airfield road slowed me to 19 mph but I picked it back up after that.

I made the turnaround in 29' 40" and anticipated finishing the ride with a very good time – as long as the wind did not clock around 180º from it's helpful WNW direction. I did well up to mile 12.5 or so when I started to feel a bit of burn in my thighs near the top of that hill. I soft pedaled the descent which took me back across to S. Acton Road.

I did my best to keep my speed above 21 mph along S. Acton but kept in mind how Red Acre Road's little rollers always seem to suck time out of my TT on the way back. Once on Red Acre, I was often out of the saddle, doing a little jump to get my pedal cadence (and speed) back up.

I got to the quick left-left that takes me from Red Acre onto 117 for about a dozen yards and then onto Pompositicutt and there was no traffic so I was able to keep going without a foot-down stop. I've got the backside of Pompositicutt figured out pretty well by now and was over the top at 18 mph and on my way down the other side.

I plowed down Summer Street, doing at least 25 mph most of the way and finally took a peek at my time when I turned onto Concord: 57' 15". YIKES!

MUST BEAT ONE HOUR!

Turned up the heat big time but had the stop sign at Concord and Brooks to deal with, when I made that turn, I was at 58' 30" and really started to pour it on, crossing the finish in 58' 58" which turns out to be a TIE of my PR for this route set Sept. 13 of last year.