Last Saturday was the sixteenth Ride for Roswell, an annual fundraiser for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute here in Buffalo. Just over 7100 bicycle riders raised more than $3 million to fund cancer research and treatment.

The Ride starts and finishes at the University at Buffalo, which is certainly convenient for me. There are ten different routes, which all follow two basic paths, the shorter routes going generally west into urban Tonawanda, while the longer routes go generally east into more rural outskirts of Buffalo.

I got involved with the ride at the instigation of my girlfriend. Last year we did the 30 mile route, the longest of the western & urban path. This year we stepped up to the 33 mile route, the shortest trip going out into the bucolic countryside of Clarence, NY.

Although it was just ten miles longer, it was more than 10% more difficult, as the western routes are very very flat. While not as hilly as, say, Big Flats, Clarence does have some rolling terrain to liven things up a bit along the way.

The morning of the ride was dark, gray, and threateningly cloudy. I was taking my commuting bike, which has two rear baskets, which I filled with rain gear for two and a decent set of bike-repair tools, along with some spare tubes. Last year, we had a "mechanical" when Hil's chain jumped off the chainring. This year, there were no bike problems whatsoever.

It drizzled very gently as we cycled from my apartment to the starting grid. We'd decided it was easier to park at my place and ride, rather than search for a spot on-campus. The extra commute to and from UB gave us the four extra miles for thirty-seven total.

The rain stopped as soon as we were lined up, near the front of the grid. That position was perhaps unwise, as it meant we were passed by several thousand people as the ride went along, while only passing a few dozen ourselves. But hell, we were there for fundraising, fun, and exercise, not for a race. I kept telling myself that. It helped ease the pain when a pre-pubescent girl zipped past me just a few miles from the end.

While we didn't have any mechanical issues, we did have a medical one, when a gnat flew into Hil's eye and got caught under her eyelid. She had never been taught the trick to getting foreign debris out from there, and it's a hard trick to learn when in a pain. She eventually managed to flush it out, but I think it put a damper on the last part of the ride.

After a triumphant cruise across the finish line, we returned to my apartment. Hil took off to meet her sister and some friends at a strawberry festival. I took a nap.

The big question is, what route shall we do next year? Hil has been escalating distances in order, from 20 to 30 to 33. The next route up is 44 miles. I'm confident we can do it, she's not so sure. I guess we've got a good ten months to figure it out.

And finally, I'd like to offer a "thank you!" to the friends and family that donated to my ride. I appreciate it, and it goes to a good cause.

My GPS track, which for the second year in a row, I managed to not get started at the actual start line:
Prevailing winds in Buffalo are west-to-east, and it was a windy day. I am moderatly amused at the way our pace dropped even as my heart rate climbed on the return leg of the ride. You can watch that map above animated here, just click the "play" button at the top.

Posted by: Boviate at 04:13 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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