By Eli Post

I underwent neck surgery last month, and as part of the process had some pre-surgery tests.

This is not a story about my medical experience. Nor am I bragging about my diagnosis but am telling a story that will be of interest to anyone who engages in strenuous exercise for extended periods. Members of this club would seem to be a good target audience. Another factor is that I am an engineer by education, and not immediately qualified to relate a medical saga. However, Google knows all, and I am adept at copy/paste. Given my qualifications, here is the story.

I took two tests, routine blood tests and an EKG. A few days before surgery, the hospital asked a medical doctor to explain the results. In a matter-of-fact tone, the doctor said, “you have the markings of a twenty-year-old”. I was stunned. At 85, I knew I was in good health (despite the neck) but being compared to a group several decades younger was more than I expected. I realized immediately that my biking experience was behind this. In my time I routinely did 40 and 50-mile rides and climbed many hills.

In summary there are known Benefits of vigorous physical activity.

• reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia and Alzheimer's, cancers, and some pregnancy complications.
• better sleep.
• improvements in cognition.
• less weight gain, lower obesity rates, and less chance of related health conditions.

The Mayo Clinic provided more depth:

Want to feel better, have more energy and even add years to your life? Just exercise.

The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise, no matter their age, sex or physical ability.

Need more convincing to get moving? Check out these seven ways that exercise can lead to a happier, healthier you.

1. Exercise controls weight

Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help you keep off lost weight. When you take part in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn.

Regular trips to the gym are great, but don't worry if you can't find a large chunk of time to exercise every day. Any amount of activity is better than none. To gain the benefits of exercise, just get more active throughout your day. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator or rev up your household chores. Consistency is key.

2. Exercise combats health conditions and diseases

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight is, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol, and it decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which lowers your risk of heart and blood vessel, called cardiovascular, diseases.

Regular exercise helps prevent or manage many health problems and concerns, including:

·         Stroke.

·         Metabolic syndrome.

·         High blood pressure.

·         Type 2 diabetes.

·         Depression.

·         Anxiety.

·         Many types of cancer.

·         Arthritis.

·         Falls.

It also can help improve cognitive function and helps lower the risk of death from all causes.

3. Exercise improves mood

Need an emotional lift? Or need to lower stress after a stressful day? A gym session or brisk walk can help. Physical activity stimulates many brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier, more relaxed and less anxious.

You also may feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

4. Exercise boosts energy

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance.

Exercise sends oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores.

5. Exercise promotes better sleep

Struggling to snooze? Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster, get better sleep and deepen your sleep. Just don't exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to go to sleep.

6. Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life

Do you feel too tired or too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Regular physical activity can improve energy levels and give you more confidence about your physical appearance, which may boost your sex life.

But there's even more to it than that. Regular physical activity may enhance arousal for women. And men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise.

7. Exercise can be fun — and social!

Exercise and physical activity can be fun. They give you a chance to unwind, enjoy the outdoors or simply do activities that make you happy. Physical activity also can help you connect with family or friends in a fun social setting.

So take a dance class, hit the hiking trails or join a soccer team. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and just do it. Bored? Try something new, or do something with friends or family.

Exercise to feel better and have fun

Exercise and physical activity are great ways to feel better, boost your health and have fun. For most healthy adults, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

·         Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity. Or get at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. You also can get an equal combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Aim to spread out this exercise over a few days or more in a week.

For even more health benefits, the guidelines suggest getting 300 minutes a week or more of moderate aerobic activity. Exercising this much may help with weight loss or keeping off lost weight. But even small amounts of physical activity can be helpful. Being active for short periods of time during the day can add up and have health benefits.

·         Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. One set of each exercise is enough for health and fitness benefits. Use a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, biking, swimming and mowing the lawn.

Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running, swimming laps, heavy yardwork and aerobic dancing.

You can do strength training by using weight machines or free weights, your own body weight, heavy bags, or resistance bands. You also can use resistance paddles in the water or do activities such as rock climbing.

If you want to lose weight, keep off lost weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more.

Remember to check with a health care professional before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any concerns about your fitness or haven't exercised for a long time. Also check with a health care professional if you have chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes or arthritis.

By Coach John Hughes

Your legs make about 5,000 revolutions each hour you ride! In one study of 518 recreational cyclists an astounding 85% reported at least one non-traumatic injury in a year. The affected joints were:

• 48% neck of which 31% required medical treatment
• 41.7% knee of which 11.5% stopped cycling for an average of 42.8 days
• 30.3% low back of which 2.7% quit cycling.

Prevention

What can you do now to be one of the 15% who doesn’t get injured?

In The Cyclist’s Training Bible Joe Friel writes, “An athlete should do the least amount of properly timed, specific training that brings about continual improvement.” What does this mean in practice?

One Overload at a Time

You get fitter by asking your body to do more than it’s used to doing and giving it time to recover. It responds to this overload by getting stronger. You can overload your body in five ways:

1. Increasing Frequency — Increasing the number of days that you work out
2. Increasing Duration — How long you work out.
3. Adding Volume – How many hours you work out, the result of #1 and #2.
4. Increasing Intensity — Riding harder.
5. Changing Modalities — Changing to riding from strength and cross-training workouts

Each of these adds training stress. To be safe change only one of the five at a time

Ramping

You build fitness slowly and progressively. Three rules of thumb:

• Week to week increase your weekly volume by 5-15%.
• Month to month increase your monthly volume by 10-25%.
• Year to year increase your annual volume by 10-25%.

Change Training Modes

This winter you may have been doing strength training. In the spring as you increase your riding you should also reduce your strength training to one moderate session a week to maintain your strength gains.

Train Correctly

Spring is the time to build your aerobic base, not power and speed. This means riding at a conversational pace. For more see my column on Aerobic Base Training.

Stay in the Small Ring

When I started riding in the 1970s the Italian Olympic Cycling Training Manual said I should ride at least 1,000 km on my fixed gear to build my base before doing any harder riding. If I didn’t have a fixie, then I should ride at least 1,000 km in the small chain ring. Riding a fixie is hard on the knees. It’s still good advice to ride 1,000 km (625 miles) in the small ring before shifting up and riding harder.

Over-recover

Brent Bookwalter, who raced for a decade with BMC, advises that if you have a choice between an extra 20 minutes of riding or spending that time recovering, use it for recovery. (VeloNews, June 2015) Remember that your body gets fitter if you overload it and allow it to recover.

Bike Fit

A poor bike fit can also cause an injury that may cost you time off the bike. Knee problems often result from a saddle that is the wrong height and/or too far in front of or behind your bottom bracket. Neck and low back pain often are caused by bars that are too low and/or too far from the saddle.

Bike fit is dynamic. Your correct fit changes over time with your fitness, especially flexibility, and type(s) of cycling you enjoy. Andy Pruitt is the founder and retired director of the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. He’s fit pro teams as well as average roadies. I’ve taken dozens of clients to get a bike fit — one increased his power by 5% with just a proper fit. Andy Pruitt on Bike Fit on my website describes how he does a bike fit.

Strengthen Your Core

Your upper body should be supported by your core ,which should be strong enough so that your hands rest lightly on the bars like you are typing. A strong core is the key to avoiding neck, should and back pain as well as numb fingers.

The surface muscles you use for crunches run up and down your abdomen; similarly the surface muscles you use for arching your back run up and down your back.  Below the surface muscles are the core muscles, the transverse abdominis (located on each side of the naval) and the internal and external obliques (extending diagonally from ribs to pelvis). These muscles form a girdle around your core, hold your back in neutral and provide a stable platform to anchor your leg muscles. You want to activate and train the core muscles that run around the abdomen, not the surface muscles that run up and down. There’s a two-part article on my website on Core Strength for Cycling. Each part has a progressive program of 10 exercises to strengthen your core.

Cover Your Knees

The circulation of blood around your knees is poor and when it’s cool outside circulation is worse, resulting in knee pain and possible injury.  It’s easy to spot the pro racers training around Boulder, Colorado:  they wear knee warmers even when it’s in the 60s.

More Information

My eArticle Spring Training: 10 Weeks to Summer Fitness describes in detail eight key training principles and seven physiological improvements brought about by base training, improvements that don’t happen if you don’t train correctly. I explain the importance of varying your training intensities to get the best results and how to gauge intensity. I include six tips to improve your recovery. I conclude four different 10-week programs. They range from a program for riders who’ve trained for 4 – 6 hours this winter up to riders who’ve trained 10 – 12 hours. The programs are also designed for riders with different goals for 2019. The 26-page Spring Training: 10 Weeks to Summer Fitness is just $4.99.

By Eli Post

I look for a solution
To deal with my confusion
About a winter sport
That does not fall short
To the excitement of biking
And will be to my liking.

This may be wishful thinking
I'm better off drinking
To find a biking replacement
I could look in the basement
Or better yet, keep on riding
Always law-abiding

Look winter in the eye
And to the cold, say good-bye
But not give up biking
Which is to my liking

Winter is coming
I should be humming
A tune of regret
Or break into a cold sweat
But I will continue to ride,
Good sense aside
With snow on my face
The cold I will embrace.

 

 

 

BY Nancy Clark

 

     Staying on top of the latest sports nutrition news can be a full-time job. Between conferences, webinars, and journal articles, I learn a lot of information that I like to translate into practical tips to share with athletes, like you! Enjoy this news you can use! (The research was presented at the  International Sport & Exercise Nutrition Conference in the UK.)

 

• If you try to “stay away” from peanut butter, deeming it to be fattening, think again! Peanut butter—and peanuts in any form—contribute to no more weight gain than the same number of calories from carbohydrate-rich snacks. In a 10-week weight-gain study that included lifting weights three times a week, 28 athletic women and men (average age, 25.) consumed:
— an extra 500 calories of peanuts and peanut butter-based snacks, or

—an extra 500 calories of peanut-free carb-based snack foods (such as pretzels, fruit chews, bagels).

The carb-snackers gained about 6 pounds; the peanut eaters gained only about 3.5 pounds. How could this be?

     One explanation is the fiber and fat in peanut butter is satiating. That means, it keeps you feeling fed for longer than fat-free foods, such as pretzels. Peanut butter can curb your appetite, so you end up eating fewer calories overall for the day.

     This study helps confirm why I vote peanut butter to be one of the best sports foods around (assuming you are not allergic to it)! Peanut butter requires no  refrigeration, is anti-inflammatory, nutrient rich, inexpensive,  and most importantly, yummy. How about enjoying more peanut butter on bananas for your morning and afternoon snacks?

 

• When an athlete goes on a low-carb / low-calorie diet, their bones also go on a diet. In a study with 327 runners (ages 18-35) who trained 8 or more hours a week, those who restricted carbs and/or trained without having first eaten, experienced 1.5 times more bone injuries More research is needed to learn how carbs and calories can influence bone health. In the meantime, enjoy carb-based grains, fruits and veggies at every meal.

 

• With global warming, athletes who exercise in the heat should take steps to prevent problems related to elevated body temperature. One tip is to pre-cool your body prior to exercise. Try drinking ice water or slushies, or suck on ice chips. Doing so might help you have greater endurance.

 

• A study of professional female soccer players reports they burned about 2,900 calories per day. Of that, about 1,400 calories supported their resting metabolic rate (calories needed to be alive) and about 1,200 calories were burned during exercise, the rest supported general daily activities. This equates to about three 700 to 800 calorie meals per day plus two 200 to 300 calorie snacks.  That’s a lot of food! For athletes who may wonder, Why do I feel hungry all the time?, the answer might be because your body is hungry!

 

•. When female athletes undereat, they commonly stop having regular menstrual periods. When male athletes undereat, they experience hormonal changes that can lead to loss of sex drive. In a study with 10 healthy, active males (25 years.) who strictly dieted for five days—they ate less food and exercised more—the calorie deficit caused significant physiological changes. The men lost about 6 pounds (losing more muscle than fat, as happens with quick weight loss). Their thyroid hormones dropped, as did their testosterone levels.

     Restrictive dieting not only reduces calorie intake, but also intake of protein, calcium, iron, zinc, and many other valuable nutrients needed to maintain optimal health and performance. Don’t consciously restrict your eating and stop eating at meals just because you think you should. Listen to your body; stop eating because you feel content, not just because the food is gone.

 

•  Athletes in endurance sports (such as runners, triathletes) and jumping sports (such as basketball and volleyball players) prefer to be light to enhance their performance.  The problem is long-term restrictive eating can contribute to health issues. In a study comparing weight-conscious male athletes (age 24.) to a group of fitness exercisers, the athletes were leaner, but they had lower levels of thyroid hormone (a sign they were conserving energy). They also had weaker bones. If you skimp on food to be lean, your best bet is to seek guidance from a registered dietitian (RD) who specializes in sports dietetics (CSSD). This professional can help you healthfully achieve your weight goals. Use the referral network at eatright.org to find your local sports dietitian.

 

• Personal trainers commonly believe they should have a “perfect” physique to achieve success in their careers. This can put them at high risk for developing eating disorders and disordered eating. Among personal trainers who responded to recruitment messages on Twitter and Instagram, 15% reported high levels of disordered eating behaviors (binge-eating, restrictive dieting, over-exercising). Sadly, these trainers are seen as role models. We need authentic fitness leaders who represent a variety of sizes and shapes the average exerciser can attain and maintain. Don’t be fooled; a “perfect body” generally comes with a high cost.

 

• Some women gain “belly fat” at the time of menopause. This might be related to midlife lifestyle changes and aging, as well as to hormonal shifts. Peri-menopausal women who had big dinners and snacked frequently at the end of the day tended to have more belly fat than those who front-loaded their calories. One suggested weight management solution (for both women and men) is to eat less at night. A satiating high-protein breakfast can help reduce the urge to overeat at the end of the day. Peanut butter on a bagel with a side of Greek yogurt, anyone?

 

Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD  counsels both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston-area (Newton; 617-795-1875). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a popular resource, as is her online workshop. Visit NancyClarkRD.com for more information.

 

BY Doctor Gabe Mirkin (This article is curtesy of Dr. Mirkin)

More than 40 percent of North American adults are seriously overweight, which puts them at high risk for heart attacks, diabetes, certain cancers and premature death (Population Studies, Feb 9, 2023;77(1)). Researchers at Boston University have explained how being obese is a major cause of heart attacks and death from heart attacks by preventing the bad LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol from performing its beneficial functions such as helping to form cell membranes (J Lipid Res, Sep 28, 2023;100451). Obesity prevents cholesterol from being deposited where you need it and sends it into arteries where it can form plaques that eventually may break off to cause heart attacks. Obesity can also overstimulate your immune system to cause a host of diseases.

How Obesity Raises LDL Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat that is insoluble in the bloodstream, so the only way that the fatty cholesterol can be carried in the bloodstream is inside balls called lipoproteins. The lipoprotein ball called LDL cholesterol has major beneficial functions to supply cholesterol to:
• all the cells in your body, because cholesterol is necessary to make cell membranes
• your liver to make bile

• your glands to make many different hormones including your sex hormones, parathyroid hormones and other hormones
• kidneys to control urine production
• skin to make vitamin D

• immune system to make cells and cytokines to kill invading germs

Your liver can make all the cholesterol you need, but most people get about 20 percent or more of their cholesterol from their food. Eating foods with saturated fat and added sugars can raise blood cholesterol levels so high that you are at increased risk for suffering heart attacks, strokes and some types of cancers. Most adults should restrict saturated fats (meat, milk, egg yolks, cheese, butter), foods and drinks with added sugars, and many other packaged processed foods and fast foods that will raise LDL cholesterol.

HDL cholesterol is a lipoprotein ball that helps shuttle extra cholesterol from your bloodstream into your liver, which breaks down cholesterol and flushes it from your body.

How Obesity Causes Inflammation
The study from Boston University demonstrated that obesity causes an overactive immune system (inflammation) that shifts the beneficial deposition of cholesterol from tissues that need and use it into arterial walls that form plaques and immune cells that cause inflammation. In this study, obese people had bariatric surgery to decrease food absorption and were tested 6 and 12 months later. They were found to have lost a lot of weight, inflammation decreased and blood level of LDL cholesterol dropped significantly (J Lipid Res, Sep 28, 2023;100451).

Losing Fat Can Markedly Lower LDL Cholesterol
LDL cholesterol balls are supposed to deposit their cholesterol into normal LDL receptors in cells to offer lots of health benefits. However, in obese people, the high fat content in their cells prevents LDL cholesterol from delivering cholesterol to normal LDL receptors that cells need to form healthy cells. Instead, the LDL deposited cholesterol into two scavenger receptors that can cause excess and harmful cholesterol to accumulate in arteries to form plaques that can break off to cause heart attacks. As patients continued to lose weight, the LDL lipoprotein ball improved its ability to deposit cholesterol into normal LDL receptors in cells so they could function more normally.

My Recommendations
If you are overweight, you have many ways available to reach a more healthful weight. Check with your doctor to see if you have medical problems that need treatment, and then make the lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight:
• Join an exercise group or set up a home exercise program
• Get advice on a healthful diet
• Participate in groups of people with similar weight loss goals
• Talk to your doctor about weight loss drugs, including the latest ones that are proving successful for some people. Also discuss drugs to lower cholesterol, high blood pressure and clotting. If you are extremely obese, you may want to discuss weight loss surgery

Erik D'Entremont and Mark  Nardone ran the Cranberry Century held on October 14, 2023. This aricle is a report to the CRW Board.

We also include a comment by CRW President Edward Cheng:" Thank you everyone, and congratulations.  This is an important event for CRW and you volunteers are at the heart of it. Special thanks to Erik (and Mark) for taking the lead in organizing it."

By Erik D’Entremont

• Hello CRW Board             

  The Cranberry Ride was a success.

We had 369 Registrations with 270 riders who checked in.

• • We generated $11,245 in fee revenue.

  Our expenses are still be submitted but I expect to be over budget as we had additional permit, DCR and medal expenses for the year.

  The Water stops all went great without issue. Our sponsored stops at Mattapoisett and Tamarack did great! All of our volunteers were Awesome!

   

  

  • John O’Dowd – Ride leader management, parking coordination and Distribution and so much more ! You rock Buddy!
  • Everett Briggs – Sat Distribution, East Over Water Stop Stud and Post Distribution, I could NOT have done Sat/Sun without you! You Rock the Fro Man!
  • Barbara Jacobs- New 28 Mile ride recon and development. Peg Primak and Ted Nyder assisted.
  • Water Stops: Mattapoisett Bonnie and gang: Our riders loved the bike path, Come Back Next Year!
  • • Tamarak – Karen, Tim, Faith, TiM and Jim – You guys did great! Come back Next Year!
    • East Over – Barbara, Girls and Everett – Newbies and Vets getting it done with out a tent, Come back next year!
  • Registration: Stan and Francie- Toughing it out in wind and park cell issues.
  • Ride leaders: Barbara, David, Peg, John O, Jerry S, Hermin, Meagan, Ted- CRW Ambassadors that did a great job, good safety talks!
  • Sudbury Dist and Food- Marlene, John, Bary , Clyde – Every rest stop had enough of everything. The Catholic Charities Food Pantry (Everett!) received a welcomed donation with our extra fruit etc..
  • College After Party: Kermit, Fancie, Tim and many more: We rocked the Pond!

  My apologies if I left anyone out. I appreciate every effort and hope you come back and do it again.  

  There will be a CRW Volunteer EOY Party announcement soon under CRW Events, STAY TUNED.

  Thank you all for making the 2023  CRW Century season a success! WE APPRECAITE YOU!

• A special thank you to our CRW Volunteers Superstars,

 
In Gratitude
 
Erik D’Entremont
Mark Nardone
.

By John Allen

I was with my grandfather Stewart when he bought this beautiful 16-foot wood and canvas canoe at the Canadian Tire store in Huntsville, Ontario in the summer of 1951 or 1952.

He taught me how to paddle and steer at the stern. I have a story from my early years canoeing with him, and you may read it here:

My grandmother Stewart paid for my first bicycle as a present on my 7th birthday. Some 70 years later, I still paddle the same canoe, and I still ride a bicycle – not the same one though. I grew into the canoe and outgrew the bicycle.

I was never interested in ball sports or any good at them, and even in elementary school, I opted out of the ego-driven prestige routine that went with proficiency and participation in them. So, in a way, it is not odd that I became skillful at two favored athletic activities in which most participants achieve a very low skill level. This brings up the issue of safety measures.

When my grandfather and I paddled over open water at night during the little adventure I described in my canoeing article, we may have had floatable kapok-filled cushions in the bottom of the boar, but we were not wearing lifejackets. Nor did we have any lights – but then nobody else was out on the bay in a boat. But also, the only lights that could work in a canoe would have incandescent bulbs that would run a battery down in an hour or two. Really, nobody else was foolish enough to be out on the lake in a canoe after dark, without even a flashlight – but we thought nothing of it, We would have heard them before we saw them, though people in a motorboat would neither have hears nor possibly seen us. It would have been good to have packed a flashlight...

These days, I could easily be cited, even arrested, for boating without the proper safety equipment, and I would never do that.

In the photo of me on my first bicycle, I am not wearing a helmet. Nor did I wear one till 1975, when proper ones had become available. I remember one close call with a car when I was a boy – with screeching of car brakes – my mistake for riding out into the street unaware of the car.

I first wore a helmet in 1975, and in 1978, I had my only collision with a motor vehicle: sideswiped by a drunk driver. In 1984, a stick got caught in my front wheel and I did a face plant. Both times, a helmet saved me from what would have been a serious and perhaps fatal head injury.

Once I briefly took up scuba diving, and on my first ocean dive, both my snorkel and the mouthpiece from my air supply floated up where I could not reach them. My buddy had to retrieve them. I was not a skillful scuba diver, and I quickly chose to give up that activity. On the other hand, I have never felt myself to be in danger in a canoe, or swimming, thanks to an excellent Red Cross water safety course I took at age 12 for a Boy Scout merit badge. I do count myself as skillful at both canoeing and cycling, and competent at elementary swimming and self-rescue, but as this article has, I hope, made clear, I was not always.

So I understand, or hope I understand, the mentality of people in that situation. Many people are in that situation, in both canoeing and bicycling. Why? It is possible for people with a low skill level to make some kind of forward progress over the water in a canoe or along a street on a bicycle, but neither bicycling nor canoeing as an activity is a competitive sport, so there is no pressure for casual participants to improve skills.

You’ll see many bicyclists who do not even know how to mount and dismount gracefully, and casual canoeists at rental locations taking two or three paddle strokes on the left, then two or three on the right as the boat slalmos along. They do not know the J stroke to keep the canoe going in a straight line without switching sides.

At least though, with canoeing, there is no intense downward pressure of badvocacy like with bicycling. I don't know of anyone giving canoeing advice who tells casual participants not to wear a lifejacket, because that might discourage other people from canoeing, and safety in numbers will save you from being run down by a motorboat! Most people who paddle a canoe badly have rented the canoe, and the renters always supply lifejackets. I see them out on the Charles River on any nice summer day.

Quite the opposite with bicycling. Fear and denialism prevail. Advice is common. “look, the Dutch don’t wear helmets, and they have a lower injury rate than we do.” So, what, me worry? What these articles don’t point out is that Dutch motorists drive, as an American reporter once described it “like walking on eggshells,” and the typical Dutch cyclists typically ride around 8 miles per hour...

I did that when I was a kid, and look, I survived! Well, this is now and that was then. You won’t be hearing from the people who didn’t.

By John O'Dowd

Hello ride leaders!

It’s almost time for our annual ride leader thank you party! Time to celebrate all the rides we led (or tried to lead) and the new friends we’ve made this year! We will have delicious food from Blue Ribbon BBQ and yummy vegetarian treats as well.

And of course, a nice selection of beer and wines.

If you need another reason to party with your friends, CRW wants to reward your efforts with our new CRW socks. These are an exclusive gift to our ride leaders; no one else gets them but you! It’s just a small token of our appreciation of the work you do to make this club a success.

Here are the details:

When: Sunday November 19^th

Where: The Lexington Depot, 13 Depot Square, Lexington, MA 02420

Time: 5:00 pm for drinks and appetizers, 6:00 for dinner

And of course, behind every great ride leader stands their spouse/partner, and we want to thank them too for sacrificing their time with you to lead rides. So feel free to bring them along!

How: Register for this event like you would a ride. When registering you can add a guest - scroll to the bottom of your registration page and check off that you are bringing a guest.  

Sign up today! Seating is limited! Don’t miss out on this once-a-year extravaganza!

To celebrate my 75th birthday, I decided to head to the upper Midwest.

Early September would be a good time to start.

The summer heat should be over by then.

And, there are no mountains or steep hills.

 

I started at the border of Manitoba and North Dakota, and then headed south.

I quickly crossed over the Red River, and I spent the rest of the trip in Minnesota.

 

For the first several days, I was pushed along by a wind from the north.

However, the settlements were very small, leaving few places to eat or drink.

Sugar beet farms stretched for miles and miles. (Picture is Early morning on Central Lakes Trail)

 

I was averaging 50 miles per day, but on day 4, I pushed myself to ride 75 miles.

I had planned to stop at mile 45, but with the help of a tail wind, i arrived at 12;30.

The next motel was 30 miles away, so I foolishly kept going.

Needless to say, I was tired when I arrived in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

 

By the next day, the tail wind turned into a head wind! ( Picture is Royal Canadian Mounted Police statue)

The next motel was 60 miles south, so I decided to head east.

There was a motel only 30 miles away.  I needed an easy day.

 

In Fergus Falls, I noticed a bike trail, the Central Lakes Trail.

I usually am not a fan of bike trails, especially those in big cities.

But this trail was relatively unused.

Once out of Fergus Falls, I rarely saw anyone for 25 miles!

Straight, flat, wide, and sometimes tree-lined, I became a rail trail fan.

 

After 50 miles, the Central Rail Trail became the Lake Wobegon Trail. (Picture is road sign Entering Minnesota after crosing the Red River.)

This combined trail went about 125 miles.

Only near the end at St. Joseph did the bike traffic pick up.

 

I had no predetermined route on this trip.

But as I approached Minneapolis, I figured it was time to rent a car and head home.

 

After the bike trail ended, I picked up part of the Mississippi River Trail (MRT).

Some of this trail was a bike trail, and part was on roads.

But it often ran right next to the river, offering spectacular views.

 

After 8 days of small towns, I started entering the Minneapolis suburbs.

My map app sent me down roads with bike lanes.

However, my phone started losing power, and it had the only directions to the airport and my rental car.

 

So I had to stop at a Dairy Queen where a kind young man charged my phone.

Once back on my bike, I knew there was only ONE way that a bike could get to the airport.  It involved a bike trail that went through a wooded area, parallel to a major highway.  The only way to the airport was to take a bridge across the highway.

 

So, here is where things got "interesting".

Without warning, the bike path was barricaded for repairs!

And as I looked at my phone for another route, I realized that the phone was almost out of power. Yikes!

So I backtracked, hopefully to find another route to the airport.

It was then that I spotted another bicyclist, pondering his paper map. (Picture is The City Restaurant in Ashby, Minnesota )

I asked if he knew of another route to the airport.

 

"Nope. There's only one way.  You have to get to THE bridge."

 

We were both in the same predicament. 

But he said, maybe we can walk our bikes through the construction?

 

granSo off we went, walking around the barricade.

Luckily, the dirt track was short and packed enough to ride.

We stopped and discovered we were both long-distance bike riders.

It was a great ending to a fun trip.

 

Just as I made it to the airport bridge, my phone died.

Somehow I found the rental car counter in a maze of buildings.

 

On the long drive home I stopped to visit old friends in Chicago and Michigan.

 

All and all, the weather was good (no rain), and my grandchildren now have proof that Grandpa John can ride a bike a long way...

 

For a daily journal, click here: 

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Grandpa75

 I hope that everyone had a great summer.  We're now into the Fall riding season, the time to enjoy the changing colors of the trees and the cool weather. A shout out to our VP of Rides, John O'Dowd, the Rides Committee (Mary, Julie, Barbara, Herman, and Megan), and our Ride Leaders, for making sure that out calendar has been full of interesting weekend and recurring rides. Century season is also upon us, and we have the terrific Cranberry Harvest Century coming soon.  Be sure to sign-up for one of the three distances - a little something for everyone.

Meanwhile,  the Fall also means that it's time for our annual elections.  We have four Board openings this year, so there are opportunities if you have interest in helping to run the club.  We have three terms ending in the usual course, and our wonderful colleague, Harriet Fell, will be stepping down at the end of the year before the end of her term because she has moved to California.   

Let me know if you have any questions (edward_cheng_89@yahoo.com) or look for the announcement for our zoom meeting where Board members will be available to answer questions to help you decide whether you want to run.  If there's anything that you would the club to do better, being a member of the Board will put you in the position to effect change!

As I'm recovering from the rupture of my Achilles tendon and starting to ride again, I hope to see you on the roads!