July 16th weekend rides

[Catrin]

It looks like we haven't started one yet so I will :)

Friday - 22 miles in my favorite park, and today I rode 30 miles on country roads. Too much other stuff going on to get in a good long ride, but I will take 52 miles in two days :) Tomorrow morning will head out early to play on the mountain bike and do some drills before it gets too hot - if there is time I may switch bikes & get in another 20-30 road miles as well. Or not, I try not to ride more than 3 days in a row without taking a rest day.

[Owlie]

I did 17 miles on Thursday (does that count?). Tomorrow I'm going to try to do 20 or so if I'm feeling up to riding. (I'm really tired, for some reason.) Next week I won't be able to ride much for various reasons, but maybe I can tootle around the neighborhood a bit before it gets too hot, or in the evenings.

[OakLeaf]

Well my bike computer is on the fritz and I'm waiting for a refurb from Garmin. I meant to bring my GPS watch but forgot it. So my ride today didn't really happen. :cool: (Okay it did, sort of, but only in the cloud - I tracked it on my phone with iMapMyRide+, but you can't download that data to another fitness app. :mad: )

[WindingRoad]

85 for me today..... So sun burned! Sweat all my sunscreen off.

[Crankin]

All rides count. Seriously, most of my weekday and some weekend rides are like 15-20 miles.
Friday I rode 16 miles, including a stop to hit up the LBS for a donation of 2 helmets for one of my clients. Yeah, they did it with a smile (it got back to me that someone there read what I wrote here about my bad fitting experience and they figured out who the actual writer was :)). I did the loop around Hanscom AFB, which I don't do too often. Yesterday DH and I rode about 20 miles, just around Concord, Carlisle, and Bedford. I couldn't go out until 3:00 and it felt hotter than hell, although it was only 84. What started out as a slow ride, on purpose, became a faster ride, with me hitting a pb on the hill going up by Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (16 mph). It's just a little hill, but I used to have to use my granny gear on this hill.
Today we are driving up to the north shore and going on a beach ride, with a swim stop.

[Owlie]

I meant "does it count as a weekend ride if it was Thursday and I haven't mentioned it?" ;)

No riding for me today. The word "disgusting" doesn't begin to describe it. The humidity is ridiculous. Between that and the fact that my body very much wants me to go back to bed, I'm not sure I want to go out. Tootling it is.

[Trek-chick]

I am not sure on mileage, but I did 45 minutes on the local mountain bike trails on Sat. Had a blast:) it was too hot in the afternoon to be on the road bike. I hope to go back today and maybe check out the mountain bike skills area they have there. I had so much fun gettin dirty. I could also feel muscles I do not use riding the road bike getting a workout.

[indysteel]

I am not sure on mileage, but I did 45 minutes on the local mountain bike trails on Sat. Had a blast:) it was too hot in the afternoon to be on the road bike. I hope to go back today and maybe check out the mountain bike skills area they have there. I had so much fun gettin dirty. I could also feel muscles I do not use riding the road bike getting a workout.

Cool! I wish we had a MTB skills area here. Where in Michigan were you riding?

[TrekTheKaty]

Big accomplishment yesterday :D My new madone has only been on short rides, so finally all the tweaks were done and we headed out for 40 miles. We found a new route that would connect a home route to a route we usually to drive to! Beautiful countryside, exploring new areas and flat-flat-flat! Temp was 80 with low humidity and high overcast (However, it was 94 when we rolled back up to the car). I did a high-spin, easy cadence for the first half, hoping to do negative split (faster on the way back) since I always start out too fast. It worked--I picked up a small tailwind on the way back and was FLYING :p I reached my goal--I gained 1.0 mph with the new bike! I managed to hang onto the back of my DH's wheel a few times and spent some time in the drops. Also, no stops (except the following photo op)--I ate all my snacks while riding. My new baby was worth every penny:cool:

We even saw some sunflowers:

[azfiddle]

I rode with my Saturday group for one of my favorite southern Arizona rides, but it required a very early morning wake-up because it was almost an hour's drive! Woke up around 4 am to get to the carpooling meet-up at 5, and then we drove to our start.

We parked in the historic small ranch town of Amado, which boasts the century old Cow Palace restaurant with the ranch house feel (but a bit bigger) as well as the Longhorn Grill across the street, which is ornamented with a giant sized replica of a set of a cattle horns. Get a feel for the area: http://www.amadoaz.com/home

Then we rode a 46 mile up and back route to Arivaca, also a small, historic town. Arivaca was a cattle ranching town, discovered by hippie types back in the 70's. The factions have seem to be getting along at this point. There is also a nice birding area, part of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, it is also along a heavily traveled route for both people and drugs sneaking in from Mexico, so there is a big border patrol presence. In fact, we rode through a semi-permanent border patrol outpost (who kindly let me use a port-a-potty so I didn't have to find a bush for a "nature-break"!

1000 feet of altitude gain to the summit, through the ups and downs of mesquite lined washes and green ranch pastures, up to a desert grassland hilltop with great views of the area. Then we dropped about 350 feet into Arivaca. The little Gadsden coffee shop wasn't open at 7:30 am, so the stop was the market in town. Info here: http://www.arivaca.net/
Then we just retraced our steps.

I felt strong on the way out, but I slowed down on the way home. Even though it's mostly downhill, I find that the ups and downs through the washes is harder to focus on than a steady climb. Plus, it was cool on the way out, and getting warmer on the way back.

Anyway- it was a fine 46 miles, with a relaxiing breakfast at the Cow Palace before driving back to Tucson.

[Catrin]

Did an hour of mountain bike drills and played in the grass in my favorite park this morning - I must admit that riding in the grass is good for my quads, but on the Jamis this park is rather boring. That isn't the point though, then I rewarded myself by finding some (very little) downhill mowed clearings and played a little going downhill and weaving between the trees. Nothing like the trails but fun.

This park doesn't allow bikes on trails, so I am limited to the mowed sections & parking lots. That is fine, I can ride there from home which is a great advantage. Mileage doesn't count here but spent close to 2 hours on my mountain bike doing one thing or another. I would like to get in a road ride today as well, but I've a rule about not road riding more than 3 days in a row. Part of Catrin's "anti-injury" rule :) Also, laundry must be done SOMETIME!

TrekTheKaty - congrats on your wonderful experience with the new bike!

[TrekTheKaty]

I forgot. At one point, we passed two 30-ish guys on mountain bikes. As we BLEW by, I said "good morning." They smiled and said, "Hey, you're making us feel bad about ourselves :) "

[Trek-chick]

Cool! I wish we had a MTB skills area here. Where in Michigan were you riding?

Stoney Creek Metro Park.

[Catrin]

I forgot. At one point, we passed two 30-ish guys on mountain bikes. As we BLEW by, I said "good morning." They smiled and said, "Hey, you're making us feel bad about ourselves :) "

:)

This morning I had given some directions to several riders in the park on the flat way to return to their car - they were pooped and didn't want to climb the hill. Two of them were on hybrids, and while I think the third one was more experienced she wasn't familiar with the park. I think the two newest riders assumed that my bike was a hybrid just like theirs, though I say them looking at my tires with some confusion. I explained it was a mountain bike - and since they would be faster than I on the pavement they should just go ahead.

I messed around with my bike a bit before taking off after them - I do raise my saddle a little when I am on pavement. I hadn't realized how slow they were going, and they missed their turn. I managed to catch up to them which was pretty cool. I really had to work since they were several minutes ahead of me. Of course I was only able to catch up with them since this was their first ride of the year, but it was still kind of fun that I could do that - and it was good exercise.

[goride]

Saturday was my first century bike ride. Average speed 15.9 mph, so not super fast, but I am happy with having done that distance at that speed. It was about 75 degrees when we started and 87 and humid at the end of the ride. Sun didn't come out until the last hour and a half, so that helped a lot. A little rain, but it really felt good. Great rest stops, well supplied with water, sports drink, watermelon, oranges, bananas, sweet snacks and salty snacks, and a spaghetti dinner at the end of the ride. We covered three counties, mostly on low traffic rural roads with some gentle rollers and some good climbs. Some roads were in better shape than others. A good time spent with friends and a lot of good people. I am not riding today; the body needs to recover, and my bike is in desperate need of cleaning.

[grey]

Friday I rode 50 miles, most of it the 62 mile option of the upcoming Century ride coming up on the 13th. Such a nice ride. It stayed overcast and therefore wasn't too hot, but we were afraid it might rain on us a time or two. Average speed 14.5

Today I rode the 30 mile option of the century ride. Some really nice hills! I was trying out a new saddle and that killed some of my joy as my left foot kept going numb, but I'll keep adjusting it and see how it does. It fits my sit bones nice, never felt like I was going to roll off of it, so that was a nice change. It also changed my riding geometry some so I'm glad my riding partner today wasn't interested in breaking any speed records. Average speed 13.5

[buffybike]

15 miles on Saturday morning. Cut it short because of the weather plus I wanted to watch the end of the Tour stage.

32 miles on Sunday--felt pretty good. It's just so hot outside and I haven't been able to ride as much with my kids being out of school and all. One more month, and they'll be back in school then I will FINALLY have my mornings back.

[Becky]

33 flattish, hot, windy miles with DH today. For whatever reason, I've been struggling with energy this year. I can't decide if it's mental burnout from work or mental and physical burnout from working out more this winter. Or something else entirely... And I haven't acclimated to the heat at all :(

At any rate, I had fun once I actually got out the door. I wore my new screaming pink Terry jersey, and I commented to DH that I'd read on TE that drivers give cyclists more room when their clothing is more feminine. Well, apparently there's something to that theory....we didn't get buzzed once, not even by trucks hauling boats! It became a joke after awhile...."yeah, chick jersey!" I'm looking forward to testing this theory on my commute.

[Crankin]

Yes, you read that correctly. We did not hit him. He rode right into our Saris bike rack, loaded with 4 bikes, as we were waved on by a volunteer at a park we were trying to leave as we assessed the parking situation. Here's what happened.
We decided to scout out the route for an upcoming beach ride that a friend and I are leading. I've done this ride once. I had real reservations about taking a group on a ride near the beach in the summer. So, our usual parking place is the commuter rail lot in west Gloucester, but that now charges $. So, we decided on Stage Fort Park. I have parked there for other group rides. We enter the park and it seems like hundreds of cyclists are riding toward us, some right at us, on the wrong side of the road. There clearly is an event going on, as I saw bike related stuff set up in the park. Then we saw that parking was $15.00. Maybe it was just for the event, but I suspect the city needs the $. So, we went to exit out the other side, as we had seen parking on the street, in front of some houses. AMC people would never pay 15.00, and I am getting a bad feeling about the upcoming ride. We get to the stop sign, where we are turning right onto a main road. The volunteer waves us on and we sort of see a guy coming down the main road, clearly wanting to turn right into the park. DH slows and proceeds very carefully. The guy ends up going straight, right into our car and we hear the sickening thud of something. All 4 of us get out, and the guy is standing there, saying "I couldn't stop, my brakes failed." We look at him. No helmet, wearing flimsy Vans, and an I Pod. His bike was about 30 years old, with down tube shifters.
It looked OK. He had one small cut on his leg. DH asks the traffic guy who told us to go, "You waved us on, right?" and the guy says yes. He says over and over it was his fault, which it was, but I can't believe this guy was riding in an event. Maybe he just fell in with the riders.
On we went, got a parking place and then rode to a gas station with no bathroom. Back to the park. Used a port a potty and headed out on some horribly pot holed roads. It was about 95 out. Got our lunches in Manchester by the Sea at mile 13, and rode to the beach. They charged 5.00 just to go on the beach! Changed, ate our lunches and sat on the beach for an hour and half. The water on the north shore is freezing and I did not go in. The beach is nice, but not worth the hassle... we changed back into our cycling clothes and took off. The last 7-8 miles are pretty, but hilly and it was friggin' hot.
I have never been so happy to be done with a ride in my life. Janine and I are canceling the ride on the 30th and will reschedule for September. 22 miles of hell.

[skywalkerbeth]

Thanks for starting the thread!

22 miles yesterday, culminating in a fall (not hurt).

9 miles this morning but all hills.

[MojoGrrl]

62.5 miles on the tandem on Saturday (including climbing some very steep hills) and 72 miles today with 6500 feet of climbing. I am WIPED.

[TrekTheKaty]

On we went, got a parking place and then rode to a gas station with no bathroom. Back to the park. Used a port a potty and headed out on some horribly pot holed roads. It was about 95 out. Got our lunches in Manchester by the Sea at mile 13, and rode to the beach. They charged 5.00 just to go on the beach! Changed, ate our lunches and sat on the beach for an hour and half. The water on the north shore is freezing and I did not go in. The beach is nice, but not worth the hassle... we changed back into our cycling clothes and took off. The last 7-8 miles are pretty, but hilly and it was friggin' hot.
I have never been so happy to be done with a ride in my life. Janine and I are canceling the ride on the 30th and will reschedule for September. 22 miles of hell.

WOW! It sounds so good on paper :) I have friends who moved to LA. They had only ever rented bikes on the boardwalk at the beach. I spent the day with my head hanging out the window (dreaming of the long ride I was missing that day) watching all the bikes on the longest, prettiest bike path I had ever seen. Turns out they live on a path (away from the beach) that goes for miles and miles and miles! They called me a week later to say they bought bikes :D

[bmccasland]

10 minutes on my bike on the trainer. Does that count? :o

Me and repaired left knee are trying to be friends. I have been informed by my PT that soon, in a couple of weeks, I can take bike outside and ride on a flat trail, NO hills.

[maggie's sister]

I did 22 miles on Friday and 55 on Saturday. It was brutal out there - hot and humid. Nothing spectacular about either ride.

[sfa]

I did 30 miles on Saturday (found a nice route from home to the airport trail, so now I can start adding mileage by looping around the airport) and ten miles Sunday with my daughter. I'm attempting to teach my daughter the skills she needs for cycling on roads, but I think all I accomplished was raising my blood pressure and aging myself another ten years. She's 12 years old and not at all comfortable being on the roads (we stayed on quiet residential streets and a couple of busier streets with either wide shoulders or bike lanes) but is a terror on the sidewalks--she's not great with steering and is in danger of either running off the curb or plowing into people. I'm generally forgiving of kids on bikes on sidewalks, but I think it's time for her to transition to streets. Yet those same bad steering skills are REALLY dangerous on the streets, especially when you add in all the other things she should be paying attention to but hasn't learned how to yet (cars coming out of driveways, cars coming up behind you when you need to manoeuver around someone parked in the shoulder, staying to the right but not TOO much to the right, watching out for debris, etc.).

I'm sure I was just as clueless at that age, but I don't think I was given the opportunity to hurt myself so badly. We lived in a suburban development so I was able to stick to sidewalks for a long time, and the roads were quiet. I didn't start really riding on roads until I had been driving for some time, so I already had the instincts you need for managing traffic. But now we live in a small town off the main road, so she's learning how to get around when there are restaurants and traffic lights and people coming in and out of various businesses. She's also going further than I ever did at that age--I used to ride my bike a lot, but I don't think I ever went more than a couple miles from home.

[OakLeaf]

sfa, can you get her signed up for a LCI course?

[withm]

Does her bike fit her? Wobbly steering could mean the bike is just too small for her.

[redrhodie]

10 minutes on my bike on the trainer. Does that count? :o

Me and repaired left knee are trying to be friends. I have been informed by my PT that soon, in a couple of weeks, I can take bike outside and ride on a flat trail, NO hills.

Yes, that counts! Progress, for sure! Hope you're back to your old form soon. This has been a long time coming.

I did the lbs easy ride. 30 miles. Big group this week of about a dozen riders. I prefer this ride to commuting on Saturdays in summer, because like Crankin pointed out, riding by the beach can be a bummer. Commuting, I end up at the beach at 5 pm, when everyone is sun drunk and leaving en mass. It's great to have a better alternative on the weekend.

[sfa]

Does her bike fit her? Wobbly steering could mean the bike is just too small for her.

I switched her this weekend from her old bike to my Townie because she had outgrown her old bike. At 5'4" she really needs an adult sized bike, and the Townie is infinitely adjustable while also giving her the ability to get her feet down to the ground quickly if she needs to (which she did, lots of times). I'm thinking, though, that she would do better with something less laid back. That's a comfy bike for flat paved trails, but is very hard to control going downhill and hard to push going uphill, and it's so big that you can't steer it easily. She's drawn to cruisers--she really likes the look and comfort of them--but overall I think she'd be better off with a good hybrid. But we don't have the money for a new bike just now (or used, for that matter) so we'll have to make do with what we've got.

There's a four mile stretch on the way home that is mostly uphill. I was so proud of her for making it most of the way on the bike--she had to get off and push only a couple of times. While sweating and straining on the uphill, she was inventing a solar-powered bicycle motor to make the hills easier without harming the environment. :D

I've looked into safe cycling classes in our area but can't find anything. I'll have to ask at my LBS--there has to be SOMETHING in this area, surely? With two major cities, a state government that's encouraging more cycling, and so many adult riders out on the roads that every weekend ride starts to feel like an organized event, you'd think someone would offer a basic safety skills class. But all I've found online are beginning racing skills, basic maintenance classes, and commuting classes at a community college for adults.

And now this has me thinking--the college where I work has a summer "kids on campus" program with week long half-day classes on all kinds of topics. We also have a motorcycle skills class with a safety course on campus in a big empty parking lot (lines to ride on, practicing turns and stops, etc.). We also have a branch of a big LBS across the street. I think this is the ideal place for a road cycling skills class aimed at middle schoolers. I might have to push for this idea for next year.

Sarah

[OakLeaf]

I'm not sure where you are in Maryland - but if you go to bikeleague.org and search for instructors rather than courses, there are two LCIs in Baltimore. You might contact one of them (or if you're near the border, search for instructors in the other state).

[Becky]

Ditto the "where in MD?" comment, but there's an upcoming Traffic Skills 101 course in northern DE: http://bikedel.blogspot.com/2011/06/smart-cycling-traffic-skills-101-course.html

[Norse]

July 14-17 was the Red Ribbon Ride. About the only weather we did not get over the course of 4 days was snow.

Day 1: In years past, everyone's favorite day because, although the longest mileage day (about 80), it is mostly flat, nice scenery and usually a tailwind out of the west. This year: 20-30 mph steadily blowing HEADWIND :eek: rather like an agonizingly slow all-day hill climb and then, the rain came - pelting rain blown right into our faces by the south wind. The rain cooled things down a bit, so now we were soaked and chilly for the rest of the ride. :( The volunteer crew handed out mylar blankets. Made it though, and we hoped for better things the next day.

Day 2: Otherwise always known as: Hills From Hell day. Southern MN bluff country. This year, due to road construction, we started off immediately headed into the hills rather than warming up with the usual lovely up and down stretch following the Mississippi. First hill was about 4-5 miles long and we thought it would never end. Next big hill was much shorter but much steeper. My legs screamed but I said "shut up legs." And so the first 35 - 40 miles went. Still, my guys and I were making good time and doing well. Then, at pit 2, we heard thunder to the north. So we headed out quickly onto the next leg, which was delightful. We were in the midst of a wonderful little 10 mile stretch that was mostly flat or downhill alongside a scenic river and enjoying it when ... sweep vehicle pulled up and said - stop, hop in, lightening to north, ride director has ordered everyone off. And thus began several hours of taking shelter, being shuttled, monsoons (over 6" of rain where we were), and the first time in ride history that they ever had to call it a day and shuttle everyone in. A marvelous job done by the volunteer crew to get all these people and their bikes safely to the evening's destination. The crew handed out bug spray and Mylar blankets.

Day 3: Was supposed to be a scorcher, but the day started overcast with the wind still out of the south, which was now a delightful tailwind. :) We flew, everyone flew - trying to get as much of the route done before the clouds lifted and the forecasted oppressive heat and awful dewpoint finally made their dreaded appearance. At about mile 50, they made their arrival, but we were so thrilled with how the first 50 miles went that we did not so much mind the last 25 now with the heat. At the last pit stops, the crew handed out bags of ice and ice-water soaked towels.

Day 4: The morning dawned with a temp of 78 and dewpoint in the mid-70's. The shuttle van windows fogged over on the outside taking us from the hotels to the start. This was going to be a stinker, and it was. 46 miles of soupy, sultry, hot, hot, hot air. I have never dripped so much in my life! Still, we had a tailwind and so were flying along at 18-22 mph. We would arrive at the finish early so we prolonged one pit stop, sitting in the shade, there was a breeze, and we had ice. Lots and lots of ice. Boobie ice (for me - sorry guys!), ice for the head, back, legs... ah..... sat too long though, left the pit stop, immediately climbed a hill and the legs said: hello, remember lactic acid? Arrived in St. Paul early anyway. The crew handed out more ice while we waited for closing ceremonies. More sun, heat, and more ice. And smiles, tears and hugs all around.

And we'll do it all again, next year. :)