Sunday, October 21st rides

[Kalidurga]

I posted this down in the Mid-Atlantic forum, then figured I should put it here too:

Well, I don't know about Janice (divingbiker), but I had a ball today on the Tour du Port (http://www.onelesscar.org/TDP/2007/index.php) in Baltimore, Md. This was my first organized "group" ride. Faced with a very early morning start time and a really big crowd of people, I was a bit spastic when Janice and I met, but once we got on the road it was great. We had both signed up for the 21 mile route (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/md/baltimore/615485166), but circumstances caused us to add a few miles.

We started out along the cobblestones of Fell's Point (Great! Nothing like cobblestones to wake ya up!), though I think the people we were following cheated by taking us through a brick sidewalked area along the waterfront ;) Down through Canton, to a train crossing at which we got stuck for a loooong time until we finally joined one of the groups that decided to take a detour. The detour meant we missed 4.5 or so miles through Dundalk, but it got us up to Patterson Park while the sun was still low on the horizon. From there, we zoomed through upper Fell's Point and over around the Inner Harbor, turning off before the Science Center to take a roundabout route through the Federal Hill area. We ended taking a short break at the park on top of the hill to begin peeling off layers of warm weather gear.

From there, the route headed south to Riverside Park and the first rest stop. Nice spread of apples, very green bananas, cookies, bagels, energy bars and Gatorade. After a break and some slight directional confusion, we were on our way to Fort McHenry. By then the sun was up and the water of the Patapsco River was a gorgeous shade of blue. Riding along with the fort on one side and the river on the other was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

Heading back, the route threaded a bit through the Locust Point area before swinging back to Key Highway and passing the American Visionary Arts Museum, which is a fantastic site. A quick spin back around Inner Harbor returned us to Fell's Point and a, well, kind of mediocre lunch (not terrible, but not great, either).

While at lunch, Janice and I decided we wanted to follow the route back over through Fell's Point and pick up the loop we had missed through Dundalk. There was no train blocking the way this time, but there were a surprising number of tractor trailers lumbering through the area for a Sunday afternoon. The section began as heavily industrial before morphing into the almost suburban area of Dundalk. Not the coolest or prettiest section of Baltimore, but it definitely gave me some good practice at riding in traffic. After passing two very cool little cemeteries on O'Donnell Street, we ended up on a wide, fast stretch that felt like being on a highway. I got yelled at to get on the sidewalk and Janice almost got sideswiped, but we made it up to the Natty Boh (National Bohemian beer) factory in one piece and turned off the ride route to zigzag our way back to Fell's Point and our cars.

We ended up with 27.3 miles, which was a nice length in between the organized 21 and 40 mile routes. We saw some great (or at least interesting ;) ) sections of B'more, and I really wish I had brought my camera. Next year, I definitely will :D

[DebW]

25 miles at 14.9 mph. First ride in a week and beautiful weather today. It felt good.

[Tri Girl]

Great report, Kalidurga. Sounds like you had a great ride! Congrats on your first organized ride- I always have so much fun when I do one (and it's so nice not to have to bring my own drink and food and get to "feast" every 10-12 miles ;) ).

DH and I decided to ride the trails today. Doggone 6th day of sustained winds at 20-30 and I'm sick of getting beaten by the wind on the road. Rode 13 miles of some pretty technical singletrack. Had a great time.
Only had the camera phone, but here is DH climbing a tough, steep little incline. This was taken just before he hit a stump and fell. hee hee

[fastdogs]

went about 8 miles in the park pulling my 4 yo son in a trailer with my folding bike. It's the first time I've pulled the trailer with this bike, and I really felt it back there. The only other times I've pulled it were with full sized bikes, and it seemed like I couldn't even feel the trailer back there. It was a beautiful day, though.
vickie

[Fredwina]

I was going to check out one of my perm routes today. some is going to ride next week, and they're were doing some construction. However we had Santa Ana winds, which were fun (not!) I had to walk my bike across a bridge to keep from getting blown over! I went under a freeway, hit a rock, and got a flat. I saw some billowing clouds, which I just thought were dust devils. Turns out, it was a wildfire on my perm route:eek: , so I came home with 20 miles.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It's the height of beautiful red/gold autumn here in upstate NY, and DH and I did a lovely 25 mile ride on the back country roads this morning after breakfast. Everything is rustling and crisp! :p

[sundial]

Doggone 6th day of sustained winds at 20-30 and I'm sick of getting beaten by the wind on the road.

I opted out of riding today because of the wind. Can't wait to get that MTB.

Kalidurga, congrats on your organized ride. Sounds like you enjoyed it. :)

[easterbird]

Did 51 miles,3400' gain and am BEAT! led this ride as a 'B' . This is same one that I did on 8/31 @15 mph. Today I worked so hard and managed only 14 mph. A beautiful fall day in PA but what a come down. In August I had 900 mi/month;Sept 515 mi;So far in Oct w/o today's ride....105mi. What was I thinking?? Life was getting in the way of biking this month and this has got to stop(actually it did as of this week so hopefully I can recoop what I lost(or gained) since Aug!!!

[divingbiker]

Well, I don't know about Janice (divingbiker), but I had a ball today on the Tour du Port (http://www.onelesscar.org/TDP/2007/index.php) in Baltimore, Md. This was my first organized "group" ride.

I didn't know it was your first organized ride! Most are not so crowded and hectic, and people get more spread out. So you've definitely been baptized.

I had a great time, too, and I'm glad you wrote a report because I had no clue what neighborhood was what. Looking forward to doing it next year with you!

[makbike]

I was able to get in 35 miles this afternoon. I came home from a meeting in Louisville tired and almost crawled into bed for a nice nap. However, I decided to ride instead and I'm glad I did. The weather was awesome (upper 70's, blue, blue, blue skies and a stiff wind from the south). I was treated to some wonderful wildlife sightings - lots of vultures, a beautiful red tail hawk and lots of squirrles). The trees are starting to turn here so the maples have added lots of bright reds, oranges and yellows to the countryside. I'm glad I rode today for I just checked the forecast and it looks like rain most of the week. I can't complain for we so badly need rain here. The pastures looked a tad bit greener today after the nice rain we were treated to on Wed - Thursday. Hopefully, the 2-3 inches they are forecasting will add some to the ponds around here and help the fields.

[enzed]

Sunday was the day of the "Sydney Spring Cycle".
It's a 50Km family-friendly mass bike ride, which attracts up to 10,000 cyclists.

I was a volunteer route marshall, near the 10Km mark, which was fun. Passing me were people I knew from other cycling events, a bike pulling a wheel-chair, heaps of cool recumbants, people riding townies, tandems & tag-alongs & a guy with 2 small dogs in his front basket.

I rode my bike to the start (a bit over 20KM), then once everybody had passed me I joined in on the ride.
Along the way I ran into some of my volunteer friends (from other cycling events) on the their bikes, route marshalling or manning rest-stops. All in all, It was a very "social" bike ride.

Happy riding

[deedolce]

Too windy! Spent 2 hours at the gym, one hour of it in a spin class. Did lots of 'hills' in there! lol!

[7rider]

Shop ride. My Garmin had no battery power, so I have no metrics for the ride. I did the extra loop through Rock Creek Park, so it's about 38 miles. Which means only 65 miles to go to reach my goal of 2500 in 2007!
Here's a pic of the ride...when the B-group caught our C-group. Everyone's sort of bunched up waiting for a traffic light. There were about 20 on our C-ride - another 40 or so on the A- and B-rides. It started out cool - low to mid 40's, and warmed up nicely. A perfect fall day, really.
Hope this link works....I never linked an image from my photobucket site before...
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z85/7rider/Weekend%20activities/IMG_0143.jpg

[smilingcat]

Oui, have a bad case of cabin fever, so went out rididng with very painful back. And I might add that, it was the first time since I dumped the Holstein ride back in August. (talk about cabin fever!!!)

with the exception of hot poker jabbing in my back, it was a fun ride. 12 really easy miles. Tried to climb a 6% hill. Made it half way but I'm so out of shape, I turned around :D :p

In a way, it felt like how L. Armstrong quipped about being passed by an old lady while he was on chemo. It was a very humbling ride. :D

And it was gorgeous day by the beach. Smell the ocean air, light breeze, warm and not hot. I didn't make it to my old training ground. Still it was a lovely ride. Bit interesting trying to climb with sore back.

So I'm just relaxing now, listening to Dan Folgelberg and wish the firemen the best in stopping the wildfire up in Malibu and down in San Diego. The Presbyterian Church that burned down in Malibu is the church my partner used to go when she was in grade school. Just few things on my mind...

smilingcat

[Aggie_Ama]

We went out to the Texas Hill Country to do 50 miles. It was windy and those hills make our little rollers look like speed bumps. Can't wait to go back out and try again.

[RolliePollie]

An hour on the trainer for me today. We have this thing around here in October called Apple Hill. There are tons of apple orchards/ranches in the area and they have crafts, bake shops, pumpkins, etc. It's a really neat and fun thing for families, but the traffic on our little country roads is just incredible. There is no way you can ride safely. Last weekend I tried riding at 7:30 a.m. with my goal to be out of the main Apple Hill area by 9:00 am. Didn't work...the traffic was already crazy by 8:30 and I nearly got killed. Today I didn't feel like driving someplace else to ride so I just stayed in. The good news is, I've only been using my trainer for a week and so far, I don't really mind it. I thought I would hate it and I don't!

[elk]

Did a section of the amazing Springwater Corridor that runs alongside the Willamette River...about 8 miles .... according to my new computer.... and because it's pretttty flat, I got to actually speed....

Made me feel so lucky to live in this city...but I need to adjust my bike.

[indigoiis]

I rode the fall foliage ride with our local club. I did the metric. It had some hills, but nothing like last Sunday's hills. It was a beautiful day, beautiful ride. Oh, and I had my first fall. It was at a stop, and I came to a slow stop, and just sort of tipped over before I could get my feet out of the straps (yes, I know, I need toe clips.)

I did well. 63 miles in four hours. Beautiful colors, scenery. Nice ride.

[amy]

Aly should speak about the numbers... she is the one with the fancy bike computer. But we got together yesterday and did 50 miles! My longest ride yet. It started out rough. We were lazy and tired and it was intermittently windy, but after 30 miles or so, it seemed a whole lot easier. We had a great time discussing the Los Angeles scenery... at least 10 homeless people along the bike path, a guy we swore probably had a gun :) ... and shopping carts in the LA river (Or how about the guy in the speedo lying in the river face down? For a minute I thought he was dead.). Ahhh... LA... what a place.

But it means so much to me to have a new riding friend. I feel so blessed to have Aly in my life and so blessed to have found TE because that is where we met. We talked a lot about how important TE is in our lives. Thanks to everyone for making this such a great place.

[firenze11]

Kalidurga - I used to live in the Annapolis area so reading of your ride makes me miss MD a bit.

Yesterday I went on my first real ride on my new bike. The wind was pretty incredible but I was determined. Until it slowed me down to about 0 mph. Then I turned around and headed onto a dirt road near my house. All I have to say is thank goodness for cyclocross bikes. I wouldn't have been to happy if my only choice was wind or wind yesterday. Although I know as I get stronger wind will be my friend, a mean friend, but a good training friend. I also saw my first road kill. . .a snake :eek: (I'm terrified of snakes!). I thought it was alive at first and it gave me and extra push of adrenaline.

All in all it was a good, short ride. I can't wait to get stronger and do more exploring. My neighbor just told me of some really great riding trails close by.

~E.

[Geonz]

We had our "end of season" ride. 14 miles out to Homer Lake and back ... winds out of the south, between 28-30 mph (gusts to...?)
It was fun :) For unknown reasons I didn't have to work as hard as faster riders to stay on the road (I don't think their bikes are *that* much lighter than mine). I pulled my friend on a Madone pretty much all the way back and looked a lot better than him :) Any other day, he's as strong as I am (or at least as strong if he's on the Madone and I'm on the FX :) )

[cyclingmom01]

48.1 very hilly, beautiful miles. Our group broke up into two at about 12 miles and I ended up being the slowest of the long ride. I really had to work to keep up with those guys. I was fine on the flats, but struggled on those damn hills.

[aly]

Awww shucks, Amy. Right back at ya.

Too bad we didn't have our cameras for the guy in the speedo (yes TE, he was face down in the 1ft deep, dirty, smelly LA river while wearing a speedo- shocking.) It was an exciting 50 miles with loads of excellent chatting. I can't wait to see what we can do next time!!

[tygab]

I did a solo 18 mile ride around the home area. We too have several farms and orchards with all kinds of stuff going on now (pick your own apples, pumpkins, corn mazes, hayrides, you name it) and consequently city gawker traffic, but it was too beautiful not to ride. Still learning the area and took a few new roads, as well as busier numbered roads (since I wasn't sure how to get back). A few scary trucks went by but overall I was brave yesterday!

today I did spin class. sub teacher, pretty good tho. did more cycling style and not hopping around. she apologized for it being "boring" since she's taught 2 styles - hey speak for yourself. I get sick of all the hopping, let's focus on riding some too!

and sara, two trainer secret weapons. 1. really good music and 2. dvds (at least a few for variety). I have yet to get bored with that combination. some days I lock more on the tunes and the video people are there to entertain. some days I focus more on the vid workouts and the music helps to make the time go by. but it's all good.

[tygab]

We had our "end of season" ride. 14 miles out to Homer Lake and back ...

Awesome, Geonz... I've ridden to Homer Lake too! I think I was about 15 at the time. It was the longest ride I ever did as a kid and I thought I was going to keel over from exhaustion. It's not like I'd ever ridden more than 5 miles before that...

Little did I know back then.

[Jo-n-NY]

My Oct 21 ride put me just past my yearly goal of 2000 miles. It was a club ride from the usual starting place the Bethpage Library to Stonybrook. We tackeled some hefty hills before the rest stop which was the half way point. Total miles was 62.7.

I rode with two girlfriends which worked out best for me because we made our own group. The A's were riding at a double A pace and the B's were a bit too slow.

Of October on Long Island the day was gorgeous, sunny, temps got up to 74 and the wind was only 8mph from the west.

Next year my goal will be 2500 :)

~ JoAnn