Texas Canine Ambush   
 Ride Stats
Distance: 41.11 miles Altitude Gain: 2,649 ft Avg Speed: 14.61 mph
Route: Black Oak Avg Grade: 0 % Max Grade: 0 %
Max HR: 151 bpm Avg HR: 122 bpm Terrain: Road: Hills
Bike: Look Blade RS 795 Iconic Ltd Road Club: Schuyler County Cycling Club
Weather Conditions: Sunny 61 F NW wind @ 11 mph
Navigate by: blog entry | ride entry | any entry
<< Prev Blog  Sunday, May 10, 2026  Next Blog >>
 Black Oak
Bailed on the metric in PA on Saturday as it was forecast to be in the fifties with the possibility of showers and couldn't find any wisdom on driving a couple hundred extra miles to ride in the rain. Returned to NY and took Saturday off as it was still cool and raining at home. Today though it was near sixty with occasional sunshine. Actually, in the sun it was in the seventies, but in the shade the cold north wind it was likely in the low fifties. With the cursed north wind blowing decided to ride to Mecklenburg and ascend the Black Oak Road where the wind should push me up the three mile long uphill straight. Started up Old Odessa and had an abysmal climb. Started out okay but soon had some tightness in the chest that best case is another chest cold likely received by getting caught in the rain a couple days ago. Worst case option had me backing off the pace and spinning up the climb. Got back on it after I warmed up a bit but was only able to pull into Odessa with an eight point four average that is one of my worst paces in several years. Headed out Grant Road and did another climb through the woods that put me into the wind on the way to Cayutaville. Did fairly well into that north wind and passed through Cayutaville and did another short unfriendly climb before a fast descent into Mecklenburg. Pulled into town a little over thirteen that wasn't a bad speed for me considering the poor first climb. Pulled decently on the climb up SR 79 to the start of Black Oak and looked forward to a good climb with the strong tailwind. Alas, hopes were dashed as the climb had been recently oil and stoned. The road goes up to the high point Tompkins County gaining six hundred feet over the three miles. I wouldn't be doing the entire climb as planned on staying on pavement and descending on the Connecticut Hill Road. To avoid the loose stones had to ride in a thin path that the car tires had swept clean. Didn't turn out to be a problem as only had one car go by on the climb and he went wide around me without issue. Worked up a good sweat on the climb that caused some problems on the downhills as I was shaking from the chills and not having a good time. Usually look forward to the long fast twisting descent but it wasn't fun today. In addition to the chilling temperatures the first two miles of the downhill had also been chip sealed. While the stones didn't bother much on the climb, they plagued me on the descent as couldn't go hard into the corners and risk rolling off on the loose piles of stone. Ended up going about the same speed on the downhill as I did on the climb. Had some good views of the valley below so that was at least a plus. Still had three or four miles of descent once the chip sealing ended but had lost focus by then and just puttered along. The last twelve or thirteen miles were on highways and into a headwind that kept my speed and my head down. Even the last descent from Odessa was subdued as the road is currently under construction and is now an obstacle course of signs and traffic cones. Had a good ride despite the low speeds. The first climb was disheartening but did okay on the subsequent climbs. The last few miles were tough, but it was in bright sunshine that made for good riding.

0 member views | 52 total views          report problem |
 
 My Blog Calendar
<<<May 2026>>>
MTWTFSS
        1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
 My Recent Blogs
5/10 - Black Oak
5/8 - Malvern Hills Battlefield
5/6 - Capital Trail Lollipop
5/5 - Snort's County Park T..
5/4 - Where Eagles Dare
 My Profile
  neonflux click to learn more about premier membership

click to enlarge
view my journal
Lifetime: 112,368 mi
Member No. 37801
Member since: Dec 2009
Home: Montour Falls, NY 
Look Blade RS 795 Iconic Ltd
Road bike
Schuyler County Cycling Club

The views expressed here are those of this author only and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, bikejournal.com's owners. All blogs must follow the terms set forth in the blog agreement. Report any problems to the web administrator.
Copyright © 2001-2026 bikejournal.com  |  All rights reserved