Holiday/Noel ride today

[shootingstar]

After a little breakfast at home of tea with milk, tangerine and thin slice of Christmas stollen (a German/Austrian type of sweet fruit cake/loaf), had a lovely bright sunny bike ride for 28 kms. Temp. a few degrees above freezing.

Just right and lovely.:)

Our Christmas big dinner and gift-opening always occurs on Christmas Eve. So we were probably out abit earlier.

[Tri Girl]

Sounds good! :D:D

[owlice]

:: burns with envy ::

[crazycanuck]

I went for a ride early-ish yesterday morning as we had a backyard pool and bbq to visit in the afternoon :p

I thought i'd be the only one out there but nope..there were quite a few folks with the same thought! Just a roadie ride but the dirt awaits me for a ride tomorrow :cool:

[blackhillsbiker]

:: burns with envy ::

Ditto.

[PamNY]

My ride of 18 miles or so was heavenly, with few people on the bike path or the streets. The parks still had snow, so I had to be careful. I walked through the Ramble in Central Park -- it was icy, but lovely. Watched the hawks chase away an intruder and then enjoy flying a few victory circles over the river.

Christmas dinner was takeout Mexican with a friend who had a yucky plumbing crisis. I took over my Shop Vac (hauled it on the Xootr which was funny). My Christmas present for her was a Maglite which came in handy as we all tried to figure out what the heck is going on under her sink. We laughed and had more fun than if we'd cooked for hours.

Pam

[Fredwina]

I got in a metric, despite the (for us) gloomy weather:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vuerRrNlUQI/SzZvQKorsZI/AAAAAAAAFkQ/R_r8-PYsHdI/s640/101_0335.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vuerRrNlUQI/SzZvQ3JqDkI/AAAAAAAAFkU/zP1rxQX9bko/s640/101_0336.jpg

[smilingcat]

A nice short ride at very slow pace today 26th.

I needed that!

[crazycanuck]

I've never been so happy to get back to my vehicle after a ride...I was really worried that i'd be a burnt crazycanuck once I did get back...:o. I'm still a bit hazy but after some food & water i'm coming right...

I went the anti clockwise way on a trail today as i needed to know it backwards & forwards off by heart. Perhaps learning these things in the summer isn't such a good idea :rolleyes: :eek:

I had my dear's GPS with me(he went on a roadie ride) as there are a gazillion ways one can go on the first part of the particular route i was on. It was stop, start, stop, start..oh hey ya that looks familiar, aha! I can navigate..slowly...I only saw 4 people & wondered where everyone else was... It was quite nice but really would have loved to ask someone what the best way to X was...I found it!

I was about 10km from our ute and then realized..agghgh..it's uphill..in the heat... That was one long walk as I had to stop & stand in the little shade there was....Let me get back to my car...good thing I had a lot of water...

35km on the dirt...good thing I did this ride today...I would be in serious trouble if i did it tomorrow...40C!!! :eek: I'm staying out of the sun for a day..

[Bike Chick]

Wow, Canuck. Take it easy in the heat. That can really do a number on you in a hurry.

Hope you're recovered well and are resting.

[owlice]

The weather was simply lovely in the DC area today, so after the Christmas-brunch-with-old-friends broke up and I'd cleaned a little, I took a short ride on my usual trail. I had to walk my bike over a particular bridge coming and going because of ice/snow on it, but other than that, other snow/ice, though on the trail, did not present a problem. (That particular bridge is dangerous when just wet, never mind ice and snow!)

The sun set while I was out, and by the time I got back to my car, it was dark, with only the faintest hint of sunset barely glowing in the western sky. The gibbous moon, which was still in the eastern sky when I left home, was nearly overhead when I got home.

I dressed perfectly for the weather, was *very* glad I had on wool socks because my feet got wet (big puddles on the trail, yee-haw!), and was cold only after my ride when driving home.

Last time I rode was Friday before last, before our big snowstorm hit; I really needed, and appreciated, today's ride!

[crazycanuck]

Bike Chick..Thanks :) I'm ok today but we're having a very quiet day at home away from the heat. I had a mild case of sunstroke yesterday & a long sleep on our bean bag chair helped :D

Good thing it's not going to be too hot tomorrow..only 36C..

[HillSlugger]

It took until today, December 27, for me to get my first ride outdoors in December. Our weekend weather has been awful all month. In contrast, today it was sunny, temps in the high 30's-low 40's and I got in a nice 22 mile ride. It felt so good to be out there; didn't see any other riders.

[Ritamarie]

We got out too! First ride since the day before the snowstorm. We did 43 miles. It was a sunny, low forty degree day. Saw several other cyclists. We did come by one road with ice....thankfully it was a flat road. Great to be out!

[kmehrzad]

Also got out on my bike. Opted for the wider tires since the W&OD still had ice and snow in the shady spots. Felt so good to breathe in the fresh air and t'was nice to see the grass again. I was surprised at how much snow was packed up against the W&OD trail and road crossings. At times I got off the bike and walked it through the snow just to be safe.

[Chicken Little]

Per my coming New Years Resolution, I rode with two much better riders. Too much better. I nearly occluded my circumflex artery. I think I'm broken, as I just realized I am watching The Sound of Music for the 80th time, singing along, and ate 3 snickers. Time is standing still. I hope I recover.

[shootingstar]

Hope you get better ChickenLittle.

Today was bright, sunny and we had to be abit careful 5 kms. from home onward. Different streets were wet from melting black ice and frost, while other streets still had microthin sheets of ice.

18 kms. but probably took 30% more time just to do the route by slowing down. We were about to go down a 4% short hill ending at a traffic stop corner of a busy street intersection. 2 homeowners working outside their homes told us not to ride down the hill on bikes. A guy just 5 min. before we arrived in approx. same spot, slipped and fell on the road.

So we got off bikes and walked bikes down hill on sidewalk. There was ice also on the sidewalk.

[chicagogal]

Per my coming New Years Resolution, I rode with two much better riders. Too much better. I nearly occluded my circumflex artery. I think I'm broken, as I just realized I am watching The Sound of Music for the 80th time, singing along, and ate 3 snickers. Time is standing still. I hope I recover.

You'll recover chicken little! Riding with better riders is soooo good for you. You'll learn skills from them, and they will push you so that you test your limits (I guess you figured that one out today!). You'll only get better by pushing yourself, so a little suffering is a good thing. Ride with them a few more times, and you'll find it getting easier and easier! Pretty soon riding with them won't be a challenge, and you'll be looking for even faster riders to ride with!!

Take it easy today. Eat well, take a nap, and enjoy The Sound of Music!

[HillSlugger]

Per my coming New Years Resolution, I rode with two much better riders. Too much better. I nearly occluded my circumflex artery. I think I'm broken, as I just realized I am watching The Sound of Music for the 80th time, singing along, and ate 3 snickers. Time is standing still. I hope I recover.

Just step away from the Snickers! ;) :rolleyes:

[salsabike]

Boxing Day tandem ride in the Pacific Northwest. No matter what they tell you, it does NOT rain all the time here. I think it hit about 53 degrees this day, and it was truly glorious.

Mount Rainier, from Marymoor Park:

10621

Gateway Park, on the Sammamish River Trail:

10622

Logboom Park, where we often start/end rides:

10623