Training Log Archive: Danny Riley

The non-NRE race, which of course is when I decide to run well.



I don't think there's all that much to report on this one. I thought it was a pretty straightforward course and knew I could win it just on merits of running faster. A good functioning compass made for some pretty QR tracks so that's nice. Evidently trying to find the ride to 16 wasn't the best idea but wasn't the worst without the ride anyways. I dropped my epunch and spent ~60s searching for it S of the swamp on the way to 3. I was reading the map too much on the way to 11 which cost me time as I hesitated on the entry.

Keeping in mind what I learned on the ride up, I decided to set Komoot to road cycling for the sections of the trip that were sketchy (poor gravel paths, constant twisting cycle paths with intersections, etc.), which I passed into my Garmin while waiting for the orienteering race to start, to include a stop at Olde Post in Chester for lunch at the sole recommendation of Bridget Hall.

Right away the gearing starts bouncing around, it seems this time with more intensity and enthusiasm than before. I decide that once I get to the lunch spot I'll try fooling around with the barrel adjusters again -- my suspicion was that the right pannier bag was knocking the shifting cable or otherwise messing with its tension. Olde Post closed 30 minutes before I arrived (thanks for nothing, Bridget), so I hungrily begin the process of poking parts on the bike until it does what I want.

I spend an extended amount of time on the bike messing with the barrel adjusters and the routing of the shifting cable to not be interfered with by the pannier. This time, when I flipped I took the load off the rear it still bounced around gears, so I adjusted the tension and positioning until it could smoothly shift up and down through all the gears (you know, like it's supposed to). Miraculously, this seems to solve almost all of the problems it was having before; sure, it still doesn't fully comprehend third gear but that's so much better than bouncing around all of the gears.

And so I begin the rest of the journey back significantly less stressed and only marginally more sore than the ride up. It's amazing just how fast this bike can go with a minutia of effort. It just wants to go fast, I love it.

A small amount of rain fell as I switched off the speedy and secluded rail trail and into the city highway, so I stopped at Dunkin' for an espresso to let it pass a bit. I later tried to eat an energy bar which split and fell out of my hand after hitting a bump, so I pulled over to eat the other one I bought.

And that's it, otherwise completely smooth sailing! If there was any steeper hills (the worst was 10% I think), then I'd need a crankset with fewer teeth, which is actually decently cheap on State's website. We'll see if I ever end up needing it...

What's most sore after the whole weekend is not my legs, which are of course destroyed, but my left pinky. I felt it lose grip strength over the very bumpy Cambridge/Boston roads.

C • I think you left your shoes 11

C • RIP Olde Post 8

Blue - Splits

Event: UNO: Pawtuckaway 1-Day NRE
 

Compass? Broken. Shoes? Both broken. Spirit? Broken. Hotel? Trivago.



Yeah so I didn't realize just how bad my compass was until 3. I knew it was slow to set but didn't realize when it set it was still off, I just figured I could lose a small amount of time waiting for it to stabilize. Which it sometimes did, just not in the right direction. Switched compasses during the course with a very nice Mike (thank Mike!) after apparently looking quite distressed out there, but after making almost 30+ minutes of mistakes already I had nothing left in me and bailed on my way to 9. If you want to go orienteering at Pawtuckaway, bring a functioning compass.

C • Booking.com 3

Wicked Hard Night-O!



I had a puny headlamp which really didn't do all that much but hey I was confident. Felt like I was leading for half of the first half, made a mistake near the circle and got passed by Brendan. At some point Nils passed us while we were searching for 7, and I zoomed out of the circle leaving everyone but Nils behind. I overran myself catching up to Nils and assumed he was gonna spike it, and when he started to get turned around I had absolutely no idea where we were. We came across Chris (I think?) as we were nearing 8 who told me that he was looking for 9 and that 8 was a while back west, so I book it out west thinking I'm gonna find a march which I never do, and promptly get extremely lost. Find a rock wall to relocate off of while bailing S to any trail -- knew I was at the foot of the mountain but didn't know which part after thinking I knew where I was only to be told I evidently didn't. Anyways the race was trashed after that so decided to make two more mistakes (consciously, and deliberately of course), running right past 10. Maybe if I had a better headlamp...I wouldn't have an excuse then...

Blue - Splits

But this time with the bike completely loaded up, ready for the weekend.

Decided to take the bicycle to Pawtuckaway to build confidence with bike touring and just to make the weekend more memorable. Loaded it up with my sleeping stuff, two pairs of orienteering shoes (knowing destruction of one was immanent), and enough clothes to make it through the weekend.

The steed in question:



The first hour and a half flew by, plenty of cycle lanes but some occasional stretches of rough roads. The first stop came when the gearing suddenly started sucking; it seemed that any time I shifted down into ~2-5th gears, it would start shifting itself between all of the gears forcing me to either downshift to 1st or the top gear in order for the derailleur to figure out where it's supposed to be. I flipped the bike upside down and messed with the barrel adjuster next to the derailleur and it shifted perfectly. When I loaded it back up, the exact same problems started plaguing the gearing yet again.

I very quickly pulled over again to find a bike shop close enough to my route, where I spent a little over a half hour watching a professional do things with the tubing, gearing, and all sorts of shenanigans just for the same problem to persist after putting the bags back on and riding away. He was super kind and clearly knew what he was doing, just a mysterious problem that couldn't be solved right here right now.

And so I trudged on, avoiding 2nd-5th entirely, making the baby hills almost unbearable. I eventually came across an extremely slippery gravel trail that I had to abandon, leading me to search for a new route with only 20ish miles to go and sunset nearing. A few stops for quick sugars and fuel saw me into Pawtuckaway just after sunset, where I met up with everyone and set up the hammock and sleeping bag.

I slept so. Well.

C • Nice 3

Komoot make up your miiiiiiinnnnddddd

C • Turn Left 2

Komoot is really good at finding good, fast, safe bicycle routes for everywhere I need to go. It is horrendously bad at spoken navigation, sometimes confusing left for right and saying make a U-turn when I'm supposed to be going straight.

C • :) 10

Mostly relaxed, then noticed I was racing the green line for like 1.5 miles so I picked it up slightly to beat it home

Not as magical a route as I thought it was going to be. Kinda sucked actually

With one of the new roommates