Dean Shaff Personal Blog: Saturday Ride up to Haverstraw

Yesterday, I took the biggest ride I've taken yet this year, around 80 miles, up to Haverstraw, NY. I thought that I would be doing 100+ mile rides by this time of the year, but I underestimate the amount of psychological and physiological fitness it requires to be in the saddle for even 80 miles. Yesterday was hard, I'll be real. I know that I'm physically capable of riding 80 miles, but I can't help but feel this lingering sense of doubt in the back of my mind that I just won't be able to make it. This sort of thought usually plagues the start of my ride, when I'm in the 2nd quarter of the journey. Luckily, I went out late in the day, so I was mostly alone on the highways, meaning that I could yell and swear and make a big fuss. The scenery absorbs all of my emotions, joy or frustration, and doesn't care. This grand indifference comforts me, and eventually lulls me into a state of flow. Sometimes I don't think about anything when I'm cycling. Waking up today, my legs are super sore, and the prospect of spending another 5 hours on the bike is not at all appealing. As a result, I'll only ride for about 3 hours today, just up to the edge of Palisades State Park.

The ride itself was pretty uneventful. I had a bit of a head wind on the way out, and a killer tail wind on the way in, such that between Piermont and the GW bridge I was kicking it pretty hard. I must have been averaging 22 mph! The coolest part of the ride was the discovery of a county bike trail in between Nyack and Piermont. It starts off as an unpaved (packed dirt/gravel) trail and turns into a nicely paved trail for the last 2 miles or so. The gravel was super fun! I was sliding all over the place, while making great time. My 40c tires just mush over everything on the road, so I was cruising along like it was tarmac.