It is but a week away from the Sausage Run, and I have been working diligently on mapping a route that delivers both meat products and mileage. The challenge when planning a meat based ride is that there are many delightful places to stop for sausage, but they may not be best used as points along the way because of their location and also because of their hours of operation.

The first stop on the sausage route will be the Wafles and Dinges van at Columbus Circle. We should be arriving there at 8:45 am if we average around 16-17 mph. This would make an excellent meet up point for any New Yorkers that wish to join the ride, and I encourage anyone that want to join to do so. I chose this location because first, there is sausage there, they open at 8 am and because they are a sponsor of Brian’s team. From there we head north through Central Park, and can either take the bike path along the Henry Hudson Parkway or just head straight up Broadway. Having lived in the Bronx, I actually know this route rather well. We can then take the path that starts in Van Cortland Park and heads along the Saw Mill Parkway until we get to Dobbs Ferry, the land of Mihael.

My teammate Gregg has planned a route from there that gets us to the Bear Mountain Bridge that he says will be epic. We have a stop planned at the Peekskill Brewery, which has bratwurst on the menu, in addition to many hops-based beverages, consumption of those menu items are up to individual riders. After crossing the bridge, the ride goes inland towards New Jersey. New Yorkers can split off here and head towards the 9 of the W, or can venture further into Jersey, and ride back to the city from Ridgewood. Total time for the ride may be around 7.5 hours without stops stops included (120 miles at 16 mph average), so if we add in an hour’s sausage time, that gets me back to home at 3:30, full of sausage and ready for a nap.

Of course, all of these plans will be dashed if the catastro-storm of the century arrives to spoil the fun, sausage and soaking rain do not mix.

Here is the map of the route as it stand right now, I can’t help but notice that it looks a bit like a large hatchet.

 Monday, October 22, 2012

Complaining about riding bikes is as natural as the Duke Boys tearing the pockets off their Jordache jeans when jumping into the General Lee, but today was not a day to complain about anything. The sunlight was warm and bright and ignited the autumnal colors into a bouquet of hues so inspirational that it inspired a person like me to use the word "hues". It was a perfect day to spend panting with another fella, so I spent it riding with riding partner Tim. We headed north through the alley of the minivans, and once we made it to the foot of the Bear Mountains, the wind hit out backs and we sailed home. Every day should be so lucky.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

As of late, it seems that my little village of Ridgewood is becoming more of a cycling hub. Not only do I have compatriots that can join me on my midweek midday sojourns, but I also have people willing to accommodate my preposterously early weekend parental riding schedule. I made plans to ride with pal Jordan on Saturday morning and actually had to talk him into leaving at 6:30 instead of 6:00, as I wanted to "sleep in" a bit. (That sound you hear is the college me punching himself in the groin at the prospect of waking at 6 am on a Sunday.)

I arose the next morning to realize that the sun wasn’t due to rise until 7:15, but I looked outside and it looked less dark than many caves I have been in, and I headed out to meet Jordan at Martens Body Shop, the local rendezvous spot. Jordan, being not stupid, had his lights on his bike, and I was thankful for that, because I would be able to borrow some illumination if we rode side by side. We did just that, and we chatted as we rode along. I made sure to keep talking, firstly as Jordan is excellent company, and secondly, to see where I was going—so I would not become dead.

We planned to ride easy, which suited me just fine. And due to the early hour and conversation, we rode two abreast for most of the ride. I am a chatty person, and thankfully Jordan is able to shoulder the conversational load required when riding with me. Surprisingly, we averaged almost 18 mph for the duration of the ride, which is a bit fast for a lazy ride. The average sped must have been raised by my fear of the dark.