Weekend Rides? [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

luv2climb

02-18-2012, 08:49 PM

Today I took my first real group ride (http://www.hammerinwheels.com/events/51658992/?eventId=51658992&action=detail) with The Hammerin' Wheels Road Bike Club. This was a 28 mile ride with a couple of short climbs and descents, but nothing real grueling. It was billed as a ride for "intermediate beginner+" riders. Why did I ride a beginner ride when I'm not technically a beginner, you ask? Well, all their intermediate to advanced rides have average speeds that I know I can't maintain, so I was waiting for a ride that I knew I could keep up on for the entire ride.

I met BikeForums member sinclac. He was wearing the red Bike Forums 50+ jersey you see in the video, and was also one of the ride leaders.

On this ride I rode with the leaders for the entire ride. It started in Roseville and wound through Rocklin and Lincoln before returning to Roseville. The two climbs were on Twelve Bridges Drive in Lincoln. I don't think the grades got much over 7%. I did my usual push hard on the climbs and live up to my username thing. :D

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/150650990

I apologize for the bounciness in the video. I adjusted the straps upward on the GoPro chest strap mount, but it made the problem worse instead of better. :mad:

Video is of the two climbs and descents. The rest of the ride was full of loud traffic and flat ground or slight inclines, so I figured it wasn't as interesting.

Video is 100% natural sound. This means heavy breathing on the climbs, so be forewarned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAp7PqiUtPQ

Crankin

02-19-2012, 03:03 AM

I rode outside yesterday; first outdoor ride in February this year. There have been quite a few good riding days this month, but, unfortunately, I've been at work or I wimped out and went on a hike or rode the trainer/went to the gym.
We did a loop around Great Brook Farm, 21 miles. I am still getting used to my Guru, but I think the issue with the Frogs is solved. I just have to keep my feet/heels turned a little more inward; I also have been able to hear a little click when I put the left foot in, which has been the problematic one. I was wearing my regular mtb shoes with booties, not my winter cycling boots, and I think that also helped. Also raised the saddle a little less than a cm.
It was really nice out, about 42-49 during our ride, but very windy. One of those days where you feel like you are riding into a headwind no matter what direction you are going.
We are meeting son and DIL for brunch at 1:00 today. I probably will venture out around 10:30 for a short ride, even though it will be around 36. Back to the winter shoes and gloves.

goldfinch

02-19-2012, 03:31 AM

It has been rainy here so I've hardly ridden in a week. Yesterday the sun finally came out but the wind was vicious. In the open areas I could hardly keep upright with the gusty winds. Fortunately, the neighboring state park is sheltered so the wind was livable there. I did 20 minutes of "intervals lite" (at 90% effort, on a minute, off a minute) and came back home. All told, on the bike for all of a half an hour. Today should be less windy and no rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future. I am scheduled to ride with some of the old guys in the rv parks Monday and Tuesday so I won't do a real long ride today.

redrhodie

02-19-2012, 04:08 AM

I did my lbs ride yesterday. They picked an easier route since I told them I wasn't up to climbing just yet. They also rode slowly, but I still couldn't keep pace. I had a nice guy stick with me, and we rode my speed, no pressure to go fast, but I still made a futile attempt. The rest of the guys stopped and waited a few times, but I still kept getting dropped. It was a little windy and in the 40s, a pretty beautiful day. 30 miles.

I need to figure out a game plan for next week, if I want to give it another go. I'm thinking of asking for one of the regulars to stay with me, so everyone doesn't feel the need to stop and wait for me, and someone doesn't end up in the babysitter role by default.

Gypsy

02-19-2012, 04:13 AM

Road out yesterday, 23 mile ride in memory of a cyclist who was killed. :(

Today, another quick 20 mile ride with a friend, neither of us who has time to ride, but we're putting one in so take advantage of the weekend. Tomorrow I could ride, but I need to figure out if I want to -- I have a family visiting and with my group, it's half a day between the ride and the socializing.

tzvia

02-19-2012, 06:26 AM

I hear you Catrin- I've been in allergy hell for over a week. Don't know what triggered it, but I was unable to breathe through my nose for a week and I'm still partially congested. Had to use a nasal spray for a few nights so I could sleep.

Gypsy :(.

So I went on my first ride in almost a week on Friday, commuting to work. And yesterday I rode in the Santa Monica mountains. The air was so clean and crisp, as we had some rain earlier in the week. So sunny, with a nice cool breeze. Kept thinking, this is why people move here. People are dealing with winter back east, and I am riding around the local mountains in shorts and short sleeves. :D. It's supposed to rain today but I doubt it.

amb

02-19-2012, 07:02 AM

I got out for the first time in nearly 4 weeks yesterday. I could definitely tell I lost some bike fitness. I only got 17 miles in. It was chilly or maybe I am wimpy but it was in the low 40's and my ears, face and toes were a little chilly. It was nice to reunite with my bike though!

Fredwina

02-19-2012, 07:39 AM

ivorygorgon

02-19-2012, 07:42 AM

Rode the Saturday morning club ride. We had a timed hill climb in the middle. My average was fast for me, but I can't come anywhere near to keeping up with this club. They were doing at least 20 on some of the hills!!

DH and I are going to do some kind of ride today, we haven't decided what yet.

azfiddle

02-19-2012, 08:06 AM

I rode 43 miles yesterday, mostly solo, though I shared my national park card with some visiting cyclists from New York at Saguaro NP. They dropped me on the big hill, but that's okay- I'm used to it;) I ventured on to enjoy some of the roads on Tucson's far east side, including one of the steeper hills in the area, to the end of the pavement on Reddington Pass road. I thought of you , luv2climb) - gets over 12% but only half a mile long. It was my first ride since last Sunday's century, and today is supposed to be windy so I probably will stay home. I have 4 days off next week and the weather should be pretty nice.

Crankin

02-19-2012, 08:15 AM

Just came back from a short (11 mile) ride before going to brunch in Boston. It's gorgeous out; sunny and clear, about 35 when I started and 39 at the end. Wore my AmFib gloves for the first time and didn't kill myself shifting :). Felt a little stronger with the gearing on my Guru, the jury is still out if I am going to get the cassette with the 16... lose my lowest gear.

missjean

02-19-2012, 08:46 AM

The thermometer on the porch said 40* but my bike computer said 35* - I’m believing the bike computer – it was chilly! And I never did quite warm up. But, it was nice and sunny and there was hardly any traffic on the roads. I think I did about 20 miles (the computer is not registering mph or miles for some reason).
The photo shows the difference in how the roads are cared for between Pepperell and Dunstable. I much prefer riding in Dunstable.:)

Norse

02-19-2012, 01:20 PM

First ride outside of the year! Actually, first outside ride ever in February in MN. Unfortunately I had a flat the first 5 minutes into the ride - luckily it was the front instead of the rear, for a change, but that cut into my planned time for a more ambitious loop so I just rode to the river and back. 19 miles. Nice to be off the trainer for a change!:)

Reesha

02-19-2012, 04:07 PM

got out for about 20 miles on the Mohawk Hudson. Allergens punished me for doing that.
Cohoes, NY
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LBovuUdH4Us/T0EgOffcB5I/AAAAAAAARXQ/-uXPsUp2xHs/s640/100_0587.jpg
Turn around at Niskayuna Depot:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z7AhFNaU8NQ/T0EgW9PmJuI/AAAAAAAARXc/Qk2_K6YKrrk/s640/100_0590.jpg
Ice on the Mohawk:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-StuxSgZvpAc/T0EgY8idH2I/AAAAAAAARXg/7w5gkp0rV6E/s640/100_0591.jpg
and on the trail:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sDXkGea1wlc/T0EgbLD0FaI/AAAAAAAARXk/escmAEdcYNU/s640/100_0592.jpg
still mid winter
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YKFTgDD73CY/T0Egd-2xaRI/AAAAAAAARXo/81FLG2Prorc/s640/100_0593.jpg

Aw I lived in Schenectady for four years... I miss the Mohawk (was a Geology student while I was there-- lots of time spent at Vischer Ferry and other lovely places around there).

I had Friday off so I got a 40 mile ride in. I rode easily out to one of the parks in St. Louis the long way (10 miles or so) and then met up with four of the kids on my cycling team. All my trainer time has really paid off-- we did 30 minutes of low-intensity riding, then 30 minutes of medium-high intensity riding and I'm SOOOOO pleased to discover that I can keep up with the 17 year old boys! In fact we dropped Mason, one of the girls on the team. This is a good thing-- I was worried that as a coach I'd be constantly getting dropped by the boys. Then I rode him real easy 7 miles or so.

I decided to wear my tri shorts for some reason-- they'd always been comfortable before, but for the first time ever I was getting saddle sore on one side. This was only about 35 miles into my riding though. It's weird-- apparently I rode a saddle that was narrower than my sit bones for 5 years and not a once got chafing or a saddle sore. I did tend to squash on my tailbone and soft tissues though. Now I'm sitting directly on my sit bones, but saddle sore! Grrr. The Arione Donna is a good saddle for crit racing, but I'm thinking it's going to have to be a Brooks for my x-country bike trip this summer.

nscrbug

02-19-2012, 04:34 PM

Nippy but sunny with a decent wind off the lake, here in Chicagoland. Got in 33 miles on Saturday, and 38 miles today. Today was my maiden ride on my new custom Ti Seven Axiom SL with Ui2 electronic shifting! :D It was a very smooth ride. The Ti really soaks up the road "clatter" that I was used to hearing/feeling on my full carbon Cannondale. So far, I'm loving the Ui2...just need to learn how to get a good feel for it when wearing my thicker cold-weather gloves. I can hardly wait for the warmer temps, so I can shed my thick gloves for my fingerless ones to really get comfortable with the electronic shifting.

Linda

Owlie

02-19-2012, 04:58 PM

azfiddle

02-19-2012, 06:29 PM

I didn't expect to ride today- the forecast was for very a windy day, but the morning was calmer than expected. By the time I convinced my DH to go with me the wind was rising, but we drove up to Saguaro NP and did the 8 mile loop and out to the picnic ground.

luv2climb

02-20-2012, 12:01 AM

Here's yesterday's ride. No crashes this time, but plenty of climbing to make me live up to my username! :D

This is the South Fork American River Trail (SFART). The trailhead is right across the road from the Salmon Falls trailhead. It starts off with quite a bit of climbing on technical singletrack with tight switchbacks. Good stuff! :D

There's not nearly as much technical stuff as on Salmon Falls though. There's lots of smooth singletrack and doubletrack.

It ended up being almost a 24 mile round trip ride with 3,442' of climbing.

South Fork American River Trail by freighttraininguphill at Garmin Connect - Details (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/151038214)

Here's the video. As always, this is 100% natural sound. This means plenty of heavy breathing on the climbs, so be forewarned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfHQtzifblQ

Nice switchback where I waited for some climbing cyclists before descending.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6908235883_93cf231978_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908235883/)
switchback on SFART (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908235883/) by freighttraininguphill (http://www.flickr.com/people/76286317@N05/), on Flickr

Abandoned structures at the Cronan Ranch trailhead
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6908236053_3f74dcb198_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236053/)
abandoned buildings on SFART (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236053/) by freighttraininguphill (http://www.flickr.com/people/76286317@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7047/6908236273_c0fe143a65_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236273/)
abandoned buildings on SFART 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236273/) by freighttraininguphill (http://www.flickr.com/people/76286317@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6908236517_8040180f09_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236517/)
abandoned house on SFART (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236517/) by freighttraininguphill (http://www.flickr.com/people/76286317@N05/), on Flickr

I'm used to seeing "connector", like the trail near Auburn. There were several of these signs along the trail.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6908236841_df687bf91d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236841/)
'connecter trail' sign on SFART (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908236841/) by freighttraininguphill (http://www.flickr.com/people/76286317@N05/), on Flickr

View of the American River on the way back towards Salmon Falls Road
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7190/6908237069_b35c56e6cb_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908237069/)
view of American River from SFART (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908237069/) by freighttraininguphill (http://www.flickr.com/people/76286317@N05/), on Flickr

A trail that definitely lived up to its name, and made me live up to my username! :D
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6908237367_3bd5ffdeff_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908237367/)
'down and up trail' sign on SFART (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76286317@N05/6908237367/) by freighttraininguphill (http://www.flickr.com/people/76286317@N05/), on Flickr

ridebikeme

02-20-2012, 03:19 AM

It was abit chilly here as well, although got out for 30 miles. Temperature was 32 although the winds were blowing 30-35 MPH, needless to say, the ride back home was a bit tough. BUT, it's February and I'm not complaining, we generally are not riding outside this time of year here in Maine!!:p

http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

SheFly

02-20-2012, 05:27 AM

I'm trying to get motivated to head out today, but rode both Saturday and Sunday on the road, for 43.5 and 40.5 miles. It was warmer on Saturday, but still nice out yesterday as well. Hoping to get out for another 40 or so today if my knee will hold up (whole other story - I took another digger while trail running yesterday, and my knee is cut, swollen and bruised - sigh).

SheFly

SheFly

02-20-2012, 11:24 AM

Decided against a road ride at the last minute, and ended up heading into the woods instead. I was totally enjoying being out in the woods, and came upon another solo MTB woman. We passed and said hello. Later, I came upon her again and we started chatting. I invited her to join me, and we ended up riding for another hour - a nice surprise! Glad I managed to drag myself out there after all - I may have just found another riding partner.

SheFly

Grasshoppergirl

02-25-2012, 09:15 PM

First Metric Century of the year here. Had a bright and sunny day at 41 in the morning and up to 60 at the end. Oh...but the wind! Up to 30 mph. Big loop through blossoming almond orchards and into the rolling foothills. Team mate estimated 47 miles of headwind. Seems about right to me.

Sky King

02-26-2012, 07:33 AM

Okay so not exactly a "ride, ride" but new brewery grand opening about 5 miles from the house so off we went, cold, windy and spitting snow but took the MUP along the river. Of course as our other favorite brewery was in the neighborhood, we had to go there as well :) Heading home is was now dark, cold and windy, came around a corner and a huge tree had fallen across the bike path so we got to do some lifting and climbing. But as always, riding in the dark with the DH is always a pleasure and the beer wasn't too bad either.

Owlie

02-26-2012, 10:20 AM

Various factors have conspired to make this weekend a no-riding weekend. Yesterday was absurdly windy. Today, I'm doing the studying (finals in two weeks! Eek!) that I didn't do yesterday. Just as well, because while the forecast said mid-to-high 40s, it feels colder than that, and my hamstrings are whining about the yoga I did last night.

Otherwise, it looks like a nice day for a ride. Cloudless blue skies, not much wind...Grump.

Crankin

02-26-2012, 11:02 AM

I didn't ride this weekend, either. Yesterday, we had wind gusts up to 50 mph, and I didn't feel that well. I took a rare rest day on the weekend and it was wonderful. Today would have been fine for riding, but I am trying to keep everything moderate, in preparation for my 5 day trip to Vermont, which will include some pretty intense x country skiing and snow shoeing. Just came back from a 4 mile hike in Estabrook Woods, where we found a new climb on the back side of the old ski slope. It's really nice out and we have snow coming, especially more up north :).

Bike Chick

02-26-2012, 04:45 PM

I got a 27 mile ride in today. It was a glorious 60 degrees--in February--what a bonus! But with it came the southerly winds at 15-20 mph with 30 mph gusts. The first half was great with the wind to our backs but the return trip home was brutal. It still beats being in the trainer:D

KatzPajamas

02-26-2012, 05:51 PM

What are you ladies riding in this winter weather? I am afraid to take my Synapse out and get salt on it, so I got my 1989 Trek Antelope fixed up. It is slow going and the cold air is hard on my lungs. Work is a long commute and by the time I get home it is getting dark. so I usually only go on the weekends.

azfiddle

02-26-2012, 06:46 PM

It was rodeo weekend in Tucson so I had a 4 day weekend- absolutely gorgeous weather all weekend. I rode Weds after work, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday- for a total of 176 miles!

Wednesday afternoon- rode the 8 mile loop at Saguaro National Park.

Thursday, I did 28 miles up to Sabino Canyon and the foothills.

Friday, I rode with my husband (and a couple friends part of the way) up to Pistol Hill and down to Marsh Station road, east of Tucson. We made it a metric century.

Saturday- did a group right to Oracle Junction- 53 miles

Today- meant to be a recovery ride but I got a little more energetic and rode 23 back out to Saguaro National Park.

Just a mile below the entrance to Saguaro NP, I passed the house where the Kenda Five Hour Energy team is staying for training camp, and saw most of them pull out just ahead of me. Two of the guys passed me a few minutes later. I asked them where they were going, and it was out to Marsh Station Road, the same place I rode on Friday.

I'm not very fast, but I passed 1000 miles for the year today!

Catrin

03-10-2012, 01:16 PM

Wooot! My longest ride outside since my MTB fall, and the first time I've ridden without neck pain.

It was only 18 miles, but it felt awesome. I will take it! Tomorrow is said to be warmer :)

Becky

03-10-2012, 01:23 PM

Friday was the first real MTB ride of the year with DH and a couple of friends from the bike shop. I was so pleased with my riding despite the fact that a) it's early in the season for me, b) our one friend is a much stronger rider, and c) I had to be a bad@ss and ride the singlespeed :D

Today's ride was errand-running with DH, including a trip to the warehouse club. I do the shopping and DH pulls the trailer- it's a perfect arrangement.

Owlie

03-10-2012, 01:38 PM

None today, since day 2 is generally bad in terms of cramps, and I really need to get some studying done, since my finals start Tuesday. Tomorrow, if I can get my butt moving early enough, I'll go for a ride, probably no more than 25 miles, because I need the stress relief!

azfiddle

03-10-2012, 02:30 PM

I started about 7:45 and rode to meet up with my regular group. Sunny but cool with a pretty stiff headwind riding out to Tucson's far eastern edge, including the steep hill at the end of the paved road. Tailwinds for a while, then we headed south. I opted to go to Saguaro NP and ran into a friend there. She and her buddies are faster and dropped me- but that was fine. I took a very roundabout route home, via Starbucks and 2 bike shops, looking for a new pair of gloves to replace the ones that are tearing, Sunflower market and the French bakery. In a pinch , those reusable bags can function as a backpack if you slip your arms through the straps (no rack or panniers on the Ruby).

The DH is more than halfway through his 400k randonneuring adventure as of now.

Reesha

03-10-2012, 03:57 PM

Challenging team ride with my kids today-- we chased hills and the headwinds seemed to follow us wherever we turned.

There's this one climb called "hog's hollow" any road cyclist in St. Louis has probably heard of it. Ugh, I had to stop twice and nearly fell over at the top. I'm not sure what the grade is exactly, 12-13%? I was chugging along at like 4-5 mph though. Weee!! Hills!

tzvia

03-10-2012, 04:18 PM

I got the Ruby down and got her ready to go. Pump the tires- the rear needed about 20psi. The front was at 20psi. Strange, looks like a slow leak maybe, so I take off the wheel and start inspecting for anything stuck in the tire. Got about 1/2 way round and WTF?? Big slice at an angle- maybe .6" long from the start of the edge of the tread almost to the bead. Cut right through some sidewall cords and the tire was bulging there. I had only put these tires on a few months ago- Hutchinson Fusion 2s. And I don't have a spare tire. I wasn't too fond of them anyway but heck they weren't that old.

Well I've been saying that my next tires are going to be Continental 4000 25c tires but I wasn't planning on getting them soon. And the closest place with them in stock is a 20 minute drive down the freeway. So my bike ride turned into a truck drive down the freeway :(.

Nice tires; I have the Gatorskins on my Fuji beater bike and really like them so I hope these ride as well or better.

Guess I'll ride tomorrow and find out.

Savra

03-10-2012, 04:29 PM

I'm getting ready for my first club ride of the season tomorrow. Pumping up the tires, finding the water bottles, checking on the bike rack, washing my bike clothes. I'm excited. This is a new club for me. They are starting a month early from my old club. I've been out for a couple of rides already but they were pretty short.

Bethany1

03-10-2012, 05:14 PM

Went with DH out for a ride down the highway. He had his Trek Navigator and I had my Fargo. We only did about 5 miles but he made it up the hill just past the airport for the first time. I'm really proud of him as it took me at least two weeks to get up it.

The Trek Navigator probably isn't the best choice bike for doing a lot of miles, but for once he's comfortable and doesn't hurt while riding it. He had a great time. The right bike really makes a difference in how you see cycling. Hopefully he'll continue to come with me.

I also discovered whole grain bread with peanut butter and honey works for energy while cycling. Forget the cardboard bars. This works so much better and doesn't make me feel sick.

I didn't even panic when a farm tractor went around us. I wish I could say thank you to all the cars and semi trucks that went around us instead of blowing us over. It's nice to know people care about safety. There should be a universal sign for "thank you".

Reesha

03-11-2012, 05:06 AM

Blueberry

03-11-2012, 05:44 AM

I have Conti Grand Prix 4000s and they are very nearly as tough as my old gator skins. They are great!

Really? My DH had those on for less than half a year when he had a huge sidewall issue requiring tire replacement. Wonder if we had a bad batch?

Reesha

03-11-2012, 06:24 AM

I have heard of the sidewall issue, but I am under the impression that it's a small minority. They came highly recommended to me for my purposes.

I have had these tires for well over 1000 miles on nasty city streets. I'm crossing railroad tracks, broken pavement and even broken glass fairly regularly on them. No flats yet (fingers crossed)!

Catrin

03-11-2012, 11:26 AM

Another 16.5 miles today, and still no neck pain! It was windier today so I am pretty pleased. It is obvious that my hands and butt have to get accustomed to riding for longer than 45 minutes again (that's been my limit since my injury). I will see if my grips need tweaking a bit, but nothing has changed in my fit so I think the discomfort is likely just from not being able ride normally for so long.

Awesome riding this weekend, and I think that as I get a chance to ride more frequently that I can start pushing my mileage up to my normal range - slowly but surely.

Chile Pepper

03-11-2012, 12:12 PM

My DH and I did one of our favorite rides--up a mountain pass, over the other side, then back up and over, for a total of 60 km for me (he went farther before turning around). Just gorgeous--a very quiet road through scrub/dessert terrain. Perfect weather in terms of temperature, but a tad windy in sections. My legs were not fresh, so my time wasn't the greatest, but it was a great Sunday ride nonetheless.

HillSlugger

03-11-2012, 12:39 PM

Did a tri bike ride today with 7Rider. Finally figured out how to keep up with her: have her run 8 miles before we ride ;) :rolleyes:

Crankin

03-11-2012, 12:54 PM

31.5 miles on my Kuota, newly tuned up for the season. We didn't ride anywhere special, but it's gorgeous out, about 55 degrees the whole time I rode and sunny. The southwest wind brings warm temperatures, but wind. We were riding into it for about half of the ride and it was pretty brutal. Then by the time we had a tailwind, I had to pee really badly, so we stopped at a gas station and bought some fig newtons and used the bathroom.
I felt pretty good, although I am slow. I know that will change as the season goes on. Had one issue with my new rear cassette with the 28. I guess I will have to stop my habit of using the smallest cog when I'm in the middle ring. I know it's cross chained, but I tend to do it when I'm stopped on an incline and need to get going. It made my front automatically go to the granny gear and t felt like I had dropped the chain. I hadn't, but I had to scoot across 2 intersections, which was embarrassing.
It felt great to get out there for a longer ride. I haven't stopped riding during the winter, but they were not longer than 20 mile rides, on my other bike.

Owlie

03-11-2012, 04:00 PM

It was close to 70 degrees here, and I needed to blow off some steam before finals. I was only planning a 25-mile ride, but that didn't seem like quite enough, so I rode up to the edge of Xenia for a 33.4 miler. I rode pretty fast, considering there were lots of other people on the trail (I'm used to having it to myself!) and I had to stop at some points to wait for people to go by so I could pass. I found myself using gears that I haven't used except on the trainer, so I think the ladders are paying off!

The bugs are out early. In addition to having to spit the things out and wipe them off my glasses, I felt something hit me and looked down to see a giant stink bug on my arm. :eek:

Catrin

03-11-2012, 05:02 PM

Darn, neck hurting tonight...guess riding two days in a row is still a bit much... :(

But hey, I got in almost 40 miles between the two days and that is awesome considering what I have been doing :D

rubysoho

03-11-2012, 05:17 PM

48.5 miles today. I could have pedaled an extra 1.5 mile but my left thigh had been (strangely) cramping starting after mile 37. No fun. But I still feel it was an excellent ride.

Jo-n-NY

03-11-2012, 06:20 PM

Finally a weekend of outdoor rides despite both days temps began in the 30's. I am not one that likes cold temps but with bright sun shine the rides were really nice. I tested out a route that I am leading, National Womens Day ride next Sunday out the bike shop.

azfiddle

03-11-2012, 07:48 PM

36.5 today- including 4 miles up Mt. Lemmon (I ran out of time or would have gone up further).

luv2climb

03-12-2012, 04:21 AM

Yesterday was my second group ride (http://www.hammerinwheels.com/events/53452362/) with The Hammerin' Wheels Road Bike Club. This time we went from Rancho Cordova to Folsom and back via surface streets and the American River Parkway bike trail.

The climb of the day was Iron Point Road, otherwise known as "Costco Hill" by local cyclists. It is a popular climb, with plenty of 10% and 11% to keep the suffer levels high. :D

Like my first ride with this club, this was an "intermediate beginner+" ride. I'm not fast enough for the hammerhead rides, so this kind of ride is perfect for me.

On the way up Iron Point Road, I was passed by a woman who said this was her first climb. At the top, I found out it was her first road bike climb. She does mtb rides, which are excellent strength training for hills.

Near the top of the climb the ride leader was taking video of us climbing. He said he would post it tomorrow, so there will be some third-person footage of my suffering soon. :D

Near the end of the ride, I ended up in the lead somehow. I wasn't trying to be a "MUP racer" or anything. I was just having fun.

Maybe by summer I'll be strong enough to ride some of the tougher rides, but for now this will do.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/157202316

As with all my videos, this one is 100% natural sound. This means plenty of suffer sounds on the one climb in the video, so be forewarned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvuTvW2CibQ

Sky King

03-12-2012, 06:43 AM

Created a nice new route on Saturday, all by myself, a nice 26 miler with big hills about 3/4 of the way in so legs were plenty warm before the climb. Looking forward to showing it to the "fat bottom girls". Sunday was a simple 12 mile spin with the DH over to home depot and back and honey do projects which ended up being smart as we had 40 mph wind gusts in the afternoon!

MojoGrrl

03-12-2012, 04:12 PM

I've had some knee issues since last month so I've been trying to take it easy. Had a couple of rides where it started hurting about 20 miles in, then made it 26 miles last week without a problem. We did 27 miles on the tandem yesterday, pretty much all flat, average speed 16.6 mph; no knee pain. Today I did 34 miles, 3000 feet of climbing, average speed 15 mph (crazy headwinds the whole way, both directions, I'm not kidding); knee is still okay. Seems to be rehabbing okay, but I am still going to my sports medicine appointment this week to find out what is going on and hopefully keep this from happening again.

Catrin

03-17-2012, 05:26 PM

Owlie

03-17-2012, 06:01 PM

Awesome 15 mile ride today! Wanted to ride further, but time wouldn't permit it, and am trying to nurse my neck along anyway.

I had a HARD time deciding what to wear! It was 57 when I started and I seem to stay colder longer than others I am around. I knew I would be cold - so tossed on toe covers, leg warmers, and also had on base wool layer and SS wool jersey with sleeveless wind breaker. 45 minutes later I took off the toe covers, leg warmers AND the SS wool jersey - thankfully all of this fit in my hydration pack ;)

When I returned home I found the temps had jumped almost 10 degrees in less than 90 minutes - no wonder I got warm! I've just learned that my feet get cold at about 62...as well as my legs.
Catrin, at 62, I'm out in shorts and short sleeves (albeit with arm warmers)!

I went on an nice, relatively relaxing 26-mile ride...it was interesting. I got a face full of small flying insects on more than one occasion, my first confirmed "bug in mouth" experience (and it had to be a relatively big one too :( )...not all that long after something else relatively large bounced off my nose. I rescued a little snake from the trail;it decided to sunbathe, which was not good because it looked exactly like a stick. I nearly ran over the poor thing. I took a stick and picked it up (like one does with worms) and put it in the grass well away from the trail. Of course, now that I think about it, I think it may have been a baby copperhead! :eek: Luckily for me, copperheads aren't terribly aggressive.
And I got rained on, but not much. Good thing, considering I was wearing a sky-blue and white jersey!

nscrbug

03-17-2012, 06:15 PM

Rode 68 miles today...longest of the season, so far. Slowly working up my mileage...would like to do our first 100-miler of the season sometime in May. Tomorrow, I'm shooting for 70-75 miles. Weather is ridiculously warm for this time of year...was 69 degrees at 7am start and 82 degrees when I pulled into my driveway just before noon. Unheard of for Chicago in March. We are on tap to hit a 7 day record-breaking streak with these temps. But I'm not complaining. :D

Linda

Catrin

03-17-2012, 06:33 PM

We broke a record today that was set in something like 1892! Crazy weather...which is why I am being so careful with my bike clothes - but not complaining!

Owlie

03-17-2012, 06:50 PM

We broke a record today that was set in something like 1892! Crazy weather...which is why I am being so careful with my bike clothes - but not complaining!

We were just shy of ours by something like 2 degrees. Crazy. Of course, it's also making the trees go crazy, which my eyes and sinuses do not appreciate.

luv2climb

03-17-2012, 06:59 PM

Can I have some of that warm, sunny weather you Midwesterners are getting? We've had a week of garbage! Yeah "we really need it, blah, blah, blah". Give me a desert climate any day. I hate rain! :mad:

I did get to take a ride with my elderly neighbor who is learning his new clipless system. Thankfully the crap held off until we got home. Now it's 45 degrees and raining.

For those who are interested, I've been posting about our rides here (http://forums.mtbr.com/passion/neighbors-passion-determination-771292.html). I feel this gentleman is a great role model. There aren't that many people in their 80s who are as determined as he is to keep cycling no matter what. :)

Catrin

03-18-2012, 03:26 AM

Catrin, at 62, I'm out in shorts and short sleeves (albeit with arm warmers)!

It was 58 when I started :) I do need to dress warmer for that - but it was 66 just a little over an hour later! I didn't know it would warm that quickly :rolleyes:

Crankin

03-18-2012, 03:50 AM

I'm about to start a ride where it will be 45 at the start and about 60-62 at the end. Since I'm not going to be on the bike with the rack and pannier, I have to plan carefully. These are my favorite riding temperatures (50-60), but definitely the hardest to dress for. I could not be wearing shorts and a ss jersey at 60. I would also have leg warmers or knickers, arm warmers and a vest. Probably toe covers and light weight wool socks, too.
Yesterday I did a 24 mile ride with Hirakukibou. We both arrived at our meeting place at the exact same time, which was a first, I think. It was cloudy and 51, a little raw, but we had a good ride. We spend too much time talking to worry about speed, and I had run in the AM. I was fine until about half way through my legs just went dead on a small climb.
This morning DH and I are going to ride about 15 miles to a breakfast place/diner in Wayland. It's a direction I never ride in, and the one time I rode near there, it was a beautiful ride. It's going to be about 70 this afternoon, but our son wanted us to come with him and his wife for the inspection on the house they bought. I told him this was a huge sacrifice, to give up a warm sunny day in March, but for him, I would do it!

rubysoho

03-18-2012, 05:20 AM

50.2 miles yesterday with none of the leg cramps that I had last weekend. Thanks to the bloks I ate along the way, I think. Considering another short ride today. It is overcast and I think it'd be nice.

Yesterday's ride was in the upper 70's! :eek: It was great seeing *so many* cyclists, runners, families, etc... out and about.

Edited to add: I think I saw a TE member but didn't notice until it was too late to wave.

redrhodie

03-18-2012, 08:49 AM

I was talked into the lbs ride yesterday, with the promise of a shortcut back if I wanted. I got dropped right away, more because I was waiting for my friend who had stopped to pick up someone's glasses. Once he got to me, we kept an easy pace, not trying to catch the group, who were soon little fluorescent blips. Another friend came back and asked if I wanted help getting back to the pack (he's a hand on the back when your struggling up a hill kind of guy) but I knew it would hurt and I'd just get dropped again. But instead of going back, he stayed with us, and when the shortcut turn came, we were unanimous in the decision to take it.

It ended up being the best ride I've had in a while. Lots of laughing, nothing hard. The three of us have ridden together before, on a ride when I was strong, and it was so cold and wet and no one else showed up. My other most favorite ride.

I have no idea how far we went, because none of us had a computer. We made it back to the shop just before the rest of the group, who had several miles on us. I wonder if I'll ever get back to where I was? But I'm not complaining. I still had fun.

Real friends push you uphill, and find the shortcuts back.

Crankin

03-18-2012, 09:17 AM

We ended up doing a different ride, when we realized we would be pressed for time doing what we planned. I also ended up riding my Guru, which was good, because for the first time, I felt confident on it and strong (er).
We rode to some hills in west Concord I rarely ride on for about 12 miles, then we went out to breakfast back in west Concord center, picked up something at the drug store and took a long way home. Total ride was 23 miles. At the end I was wearing a short sleeved jersey, short sleeved base layer, arm warmers, and knickers, short fingered gloves. We probably saw at least 200 cyclists.
Glad I had my jacket for the beginning, though.

shootingstar

03-18-2012, 10:12 AM

I think I did around 23-25 km.

Must have been around 28 degrees F. Most of snow melted off. But more may be forecasted later this week which is why I piled in some cycling.

There weren't many people out cycling. Saw more joggers than cyclists. Alot of joggers were dressed more lightly than I. But then as a cyclist, with the wind generated by cycling or wind just hitting harder, need to dress more warmly.

AppleTree

03-18-2012, 01:29 PM

We started out to do an organized ride in this area called the McClinchy Mile. Nice scenic country ride, about 34 miles or so (my husband usually does the longer loop). We got to the start and despite our best hopes the rain would be magically gone 20 miles north, alas, it was still there and then some. :rolleyes:

The rain itself might not have been SO bad, but most of the route is along 2 or 3 lane roads with mixed traffic, heavy in spots. Not so much what is coming down but what is being thrown up in our faces from the road that made us reconsider.

Well, on our way home it lightened up a little and we thought, well, since we are all geared up why not just take a ride along the rail trail instead, at least we'd get a ride in. So that's what we did! I got in only 17 miles, and actually it started raining harder AND snowing on us on the way back. Boy were we soaked. But we felt better having at least cycled...and made the hot soup and hot bath seem sooooooooo much more luxurious at home. :)

I did find out that Specialized shoe covers do diddly-squat in a heavy rain. :(

The upshot is that a few hours after we got home, the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon. That's the northwest for you.

rubysoho

03-18-2012, 03:27 PM

Did another 20 miles today to bring my weekend total just above 70 miles.

Also, I didn't realize roller blades are coming back. I definitely saw 10 different people on roller blades between yesterday and today.

Catrin

03-18-2012, 04:48 PM

I've been seeing people on blades with a partner on a bike, interesting!

I rode yesterday so couldn't ride today - but I DID go to the gym and tossed weights around for quite some time :) I've dinner plans tomorrow night, but if that falls through will ride tomorrow night. 80 degrees in March, gotta love it!

smittykitty

03-18-2012, 05:10 PM

Boy, we sure could use some of that warm weather up here in the Pac NW that the rest of the country is enjoying.

Should have ridden Friday, but the sky looked like it would start pouring at any time. Ended up missing out on a chance to ride.

Canceled on our planned 40+ ride 2 hrs away yesterday (McClitchey Mile through Granite Falls). Too far to drive with the weather we have been having. Should have gone out yesterday between all the clouds and sprinkles. We did do practice stair climbing at the hospital in prep for next Sunday's Big Climb for Lymphoma in Seattle (69 flights of stairs up the Columbia Tower, Seattle's tallest building).

Today we finally decided to go out, the weather had been threatening all day, but nothing. Sun was out, its time to go.

Quick banana, changed into 12 layers of bike gear. Excited to try new Louis Gourneau shorts. Really long, love them. Lubed up, Advil down. Toe warmers in place. Water bottle filled. 2nd time in new road shoes/pedals. I'm excited, I'm ready. Gonna ride my bike.

We go outside, across the yard to the "bike garage", sun shining, but there is this big grey cloud coming our way. DH says we better wait a minute. Sure enough, rain. Back in the house, we wait it out for 5 minutes, just a few sprinkles. Out again. This time bikes are outside, zeroed out my computer. Took those cleat covers off. Starts to rain. Back inside. More waiting. DH steps outside, yep, still raining. Change cloths. Get in cars, DQ has Blizzards on sale and DH has been wanting one. Sitting in the car eating it, watching the SNOW FLAKES hit the car, my toes are toasty warm. Couldn't see letting a good pair of toe warmers go to waste! Quit raining before we got home and has been dry ever since!

Oh, does the hawk we saw along the way count? We were in the car, guess not!

Good Practice Run.

Man we could use some of that warm weather. WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE SNOW HERE IN MARCH!!!! Bugs in your mouth! What are bugs?

WindingRoad

03-18-2012, 06:09 PM

OMG I have been locked inside for weeks on end studying my A$$ off for test after test and today I finally cracked and grabbed the road bike and drove over to the local trail in town. Oh...My....Gawd! It was sooooooo nice to be out on the bike today I absolutely loved every second of it even when my legs were burning from a blustery head wind in spots. I did 29 miles and averaged 17.2 MPH. I was SUPER happy with that :) It's so amazing to get back on the road bike after commuting all winter. Makes me feel so fast ;)

missjean

03-18-2012, 06:35 PM

My friend bailed out of today's ride, which was just fine because yesterday's commute sapped my energy a bit, so I headed over to the local rail trail for an easy flat spin.
I only did maybe 10 miles, but I enjoyed it because it was a beautiful sunny day and because of all the people out having fun on bikes. There were old couples, young couples, groups of friends, families, one guy on a low rider chopper sort of bike, a cute little girl with a pink bike who stopped every 3 feet to ding her bike bell, a very rotund man on a bike way too small from him, little kids weaving all over the path. It all made me smile.

Owlie

03-18-2012, 07:26 PM

Norse

03-19-2012, 07:57 AM

In the last 10 days, we have broken an all-time high temp record 7 times and today should be number 8. Saturday it hit 80 and I did a 32 mile loop around Lake Minnetonka - I was wearing a summer outfit and there is still ice on the lakes and scattered snow pile remnants here and there. Yesterday, a meandering ride out West that came to a little over 28 miles. My sit bones are sore (much different being out on the road vs. the trainer :eek:) but my legs and lungs felt great both days. :)

We usually have snowstorms this time of year. This is just amazing. Everyone here is waiting for the other shoe to drop - will it be an April blizzard, a hotter, muggier summer...?

azfiddle

03-19-2012, 08:16 AM

No rides for me over the weekend- I was in my Irish fiddling persona on Saturday and Sunday was incredibly windy and rainy. But I rode over 200 miles between March 10 and 16 on the first week of a two week spring break, so I can't complain. It's still crummy weather here so no ride today either.

WindingRoad

03-19-2012, 09:05 AM

Owlie - sometimes you just have to pick your battles :) Glad I did, hopefully the test this morning went well. I don't regret it either. ;)

Jo-n-NY

03-19-2012, 10:34 AM

2 great riding days on Long Island. Saturday preroad the route I was going to lead on Sunday. Then Sunday went without a hitch as I didn't even have to look a my cue sheet, saw that my Garmin was working just the way I wanted, except for one little thing that I have to figure out, no biggie so this ride was test for that also.

I hope with Spring officially coming in tomorrow the whether remains and we can say good bye to winter :)

rubysoho

03-25-2012, 05:02 PM

I pledged to ride 85 miles this weekend because I had $85 left to raise for a Tour de Cure ride (ended up getting $75 worth of donations! :D ).

What I had originally planned to do was split the mileage up between yesterday and today. Except I worked yesterday and the threat of t-storms made me decide to not commute the 26 miles on my bike (I had an event to work so I couldn't be soaking wet!).

That meant 85 miles today. And I did it. And I sort of regret it but at the same time I don't. It is neat to know I could do it (though the last 20 miles wasn't easy!). I'm not sure I gained anything from it as far as training. I was really sore from the saddle beginning after mile 50. Sitting on the couch now I feel okay, legs are tired, but I'd probably cry if I had to sit on the bike again.

6:26:28 was my saddle time. Overall I took a little more than 7 hours with breaks.

Catrin

03-26-2012, 03:04 AM

Awesome job Rubysoho, and you met your goal :cool:

limewave

03-26-2012, 05:54 AM

Way to tough it out Ruby. Nothing feels better than sticking to and accomplishing a goal. Very impressed . . .

I did a gravel road race over the weekend. I was super-duper-quadruple stressed about it because I have been slacking on my training and my diet! I kept thinking I would get motivated and I never really did.

I had pre-ridden the course a few weeks ago and it was awful. My goal for the race was to average around 14.5 MPH (based on some friends finish times from the previous year). During the pre-ride, I could barely manage 11 mph and I was in serious pain and suffering. :eek::eek::eek:

Mentally, I was preparing myself for a good dose of humiliation. My DH was very encouraging. I overheard him on the phone with his friend--one of the guys I prerode the course with--and he was saying "one thing about Whump (that's me) is that she always manages to pull it out for race day, don't count her out." :)

Saturday morning, I found my race legs. I ended up averaging 15.5 mph over the course, beating my goal. Mid-race I decided I really, really wanted to finish in under 2:20. I busted my chops and came in at 2:19:45 and even passed one of my rivals in the final 2 miles. :) Its the first race that I have ever finished before her.

It felt great :) For those interested, I'll post a race report on my blog later this week.

Catrin

03-26-2012, 07:10 AM

I can't wait to read your race report Limewave! It sounds like your rocked that race, thanks for sharing!

deeannef

03-26-2012, 07:31 AM

Had a fun ride for our canine friends on Saturday in Redlands, CA. Great time with some good climbing and unfortunately way too much fog in the beginning.

AppleTree

03-26-2012, 01:31 PM

The northwest weather parted long enough this weekend to do a 45 mile ride on the Centennial Trail! Gosh, I hope the weather continues to cooperate this spring for our training.

It was VERY cold to start. When we left the house it was nearly 40 degrees, and I thought, "that's not terrible", but by the time we got to the trail it had dropped down to 32...brrr. It was supposed to warm up to 56 or so later, and I did not put on the thermal tights. My knees were the coldest, at least I had warm gloves. I didn't warm up till I had cranked out five miles.

Anyway, it felt great to be out in the nice weather, and I did my best mph for a long ride, nearly 12...usually I can only manage MAYBE 10 or so...pretty good...for me anyway! :o I have really been trying to improve my speed.

I would have stopped to take more pictures. It was such a pretty morning, but as I say, I was trying to improve my speed for once. :rolleyes:

The second photo was taken near the trail, just outside of Snohomish. So funny, with all the shoes covering it, I am not sure what the story is on that one.

AppleTree

03-26-2012, 01:35 PM

Not sure why, my photos weren't included in the last post:

Catrin

04-01-2012, 12:12 PM

Awesome ride today, 80 minutes and had no pain at all. Indeed, I felt stronger on the bike than I think I ever have :) 16 miles in 80 minutes and given that part of that was in the wind I am pretty happy with that!

azfiddle

04-01-2012, 12:31 PM

Yesterday was a bit on the warm side- really starting to need more water. We did a ride east of Tucson on Marsh Station Road. Lots of nice desert out there, and although it parallels the railroad and freeway it's usually somewhat separated. 60 miles back to the car, but I talked the DH into picking me up 3 miles down the road so I could make it a metric century. I was pretty slow - I've ridden a lot this month and my legs could really feel it.

So today- no bike ride. We went birding instead, until the wind came up.

Crankin

04-01-2012, 01:52 PM

On Friday Hiakukibou and I did 23.5 miles (for me) on one of our shorter routes. My legs felt really dead and I was just overall not feeling it! Good thing that Hirakukibou wasn't either, so we generally had a lovely, social and sunny ride, with temperatures around 46 degrees. I had been complaining about my shifting since DH put the new cassette on the rear with a 28, as my chain was being really wonky. On Friday, I realized it was my front derailleur that was causing the issue, as I could barely move it up from ring to ring. DH fixed it on Saturday.
Yesterday, it was kind of raw and cold, with rain in the AM. I thought I would run, but I still felt off, from allergies. So we drove to the museum lot at the North Bridge, walked into town, stopped and had a glass of wine, and walked back to the car. Today we did our first ride of the season with our friends, about 24 miles. A lot of climbing and felt much better. It was still kinda raw and cold, but we had fun on local roads that I haven't been on much this year.

Antaresia

04-01-2012, 11:08 PM

I did the 50km ride today!

http://j.mp/HBrGT6

Ride Time: 2:21:57
Stopped Time: 39:29
Distance: 33.20 miles
Average: 14.03 mph
Fastest Speed: 28.29 mph
Ascent: 1047 feet
Descent: 1076 feet

Not bad considering I was riding my steel cx commuter! I don't feel bad when carbon fiber clipless team-kit people pass me, haha. It was beautiful, biking along the water front and I want to do it again, but on my own. I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have, trying to keep up with the faster bikers.

It was an organized ride, so I got a pin for doing it. I'm so happy about that, I feel legit.

Fredwina

04-02-2012, 03:41 PM

I did a Donut Ride for Biciclista's DH - Ralieghdon:
Troy Lock
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g7x-HQWphPU/T3iPuDA1TuI/AAAAAAAARjg/_8DXcctm-9Y/s640/100_0660.JPG
Mohawk Hudson Trail:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-LcLuIkdiVdc/T3iP1m5Pz-I/AAAAAAAARj4/uBQ_6FDc7vk/s640/100_0665.JPG
Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zY_fBE3Sps0/T3iP5XlRZNI/AAAAAAAARkA/psibXwHnDV8/s640/100_0666.JPG
Break Time:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qcJ01KFSdw4/T3iP_56qTvI/AAAAAAAARkY/YaPsyGETExw/s640/100_0669.JPG
That felt better:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Sz7irLxx2kI/T3iQDvzSRFI/AAAAAAAARko/ncifCWSewY8/s640/100_0671.JPG

MojoGrrl

04-02-2012, 06:14 PM

I have a century coming up this weekend and really needed to get some miles in, so I did 63 miles yesterday with a new friend, with tons and tons of climbing, and got my first bee sting on the bike. It happened only about 15 miles in and I just kept going...it wasn't bad yesterday, but it's horribly red and swollen today. I went back out today for some more climbing and I'm exhausted.

Owlie

04-02-2012, 06:31 PM

I've been doing short (14.8--the trail is well-signposted and I know how far my turnaround point is from the lot I usually park at!) rides after class to get used to my newly-fitted bike. So I rode last Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and Monday of this week. Today, my knee was really unhappy with me for some reason--and it was my left, somewhat unusually. It might be the yoga...

I must say, I'm looking forward to it getting light (and warm) early enough for me to ride in the mornings. Trying to get to the trail during rush hour is a PITA!

marni

04-02-2012, 06:49 PM

Went out this weekend specifically to get some pictures of local wild flowers. Had to climb through a gate to get a good view of the bluebonnets. Only occurred to me after I got partially stuck halfway through that I should have emptied my jersey pockets before starting through the slot between the bars, instead of half way through. Duh! Fortunately I did have the sense to take off my helmet and I did get back through the gate more easily with empty pockets after taking the photos.

Anyway, the ride was good and I ended up doing more than I had planned.

42 miles in 2:10 14.9

Sky King

04-07-2012, 06:31 AM

Finally finished my post (http://biketouringnews.com/hors-categorie/tales-from-the-road/taking-it-slow-in-the-hagerman-valley/) about how to ride 15 miles in 3 hours :)

azfiddle

04-07-2012, 06:57 AM

I will count yesterday as part of the weekend- since it is a three day weekend for me. I planned to ride up to milepost 14 on Mt. Lemmon, Windy Point (about 6400 feet). But even though I am the slowest person on 2 wheels riding up the mountain, I felt great and decided to keep riding. I made it Palisades Ranger station, about milepost 20 and 7900 feet. I had to turn around to get back but felt great and confident I will be able to ride the whole thing in 2 weeks.

Crankin

04-07-2012, 07:25 AM

I always count Friday rides as weekend rides.
Yesterday, Hirakukibou and I rode, just around Concord and Carlisle. It was windy, cloudy, and 44 degrees when I left to meet her. I was slightly underdressed, could have used a LS base layer instead of SS and a heavier head covering. Feet and hands were good, though. We did a lot of hills, for a 19 mile ride. Of course, the sun did come out when I was about 2 miles from my house and it was bright and beautiful (although not above 54) for the rest of the day.
When I was riding on my way to meet Hirakukibou, I saw 2 guys riding in shorts. It never ceases to amaze me that people can tolerate 44 degrees and windy on bare legs.

shootingstar

04-07-2012, 07:39 AM

Am in Vancouver for awhile and did a 23 km. cycle of which halfway it hailed, rained cold with sun peeping through. We were glad to get home since we were cold from sweat and rain.

Nevertheless it's been nice with the cherry blossoms out.

Catrin

04-07-2012, 08:40 AM

Two rides planned today - both to test my neck and to help support the local mtb community by showing up with my mountain bike to the Mayor's Spring Ride (only 11 miles on MUT paths so it will be a slow pace)

Ride 1: 37 minutes, 8 mile EASY ride as my quads were so sore yesterday that I couldn't even go for a walk. Not sore today but I don't want to push it. Figure 2 short easy rides at an easy pace will help recover. Foam rolled before and after ride 1. Had fun and had to keep pulling back on the intensity...easy pace, easy pace...

Looking forward to Ride 2 - 11 easy miles on the mountain bike (first ride of any kind since my whiplash injury on that bike) will be a good test if my neck is strong enough to handle the different riding position. I think it is, but this will provide an indicator... if all goes well then an easy dirt trail is in my near future ;)

Catrin

04-07-2012, 03:31 PM

Ride 2 went fine, though it will be some time before I ride around THAT many people at the same time :rolleyes: I am just too accustomed to being alone in the woods or on my country roads. It was fun though.

11 miles on the mountain bike - and while I never road ride with that bike, I think the riding position will be fine for the trails. Dirt, here I come :cool: :D

Owlie

04-07-2012, 04:15 PM

YAY Catrin!

I did 40.2 miles. And now I want to eat all of the things.

Catrin

04-07-2012, 04:30 PM

YAY Catrin!

I did 40.2 miles. And now I want to eat all of the things.

Well don't eat ALL of the things, leave some for the rest of us ;) When I read your words I laughed out loud picturing that rather twisted and very funny internet comic/blog - as I am sure you meant us to. I can picture it - just not the name of it :o

I won't say that I don't have some tight muscles at the base of my neck, I've not ridden in that position for 6 months. What matters to me is that nothing associated with the whiplash injury is complaining in any way at all - and hopefully that won't change tonight or tomorrow morning :)

WindingRoad

04-07-2012, 04:43 PM

First ride out on the tandem Friday. I have to admit my shoulder is a bit, ok a lot, sore. It was pretty windy so we had a lot of cross draft so I had to really hang on at times. We did average 16.8 MPH which was pretty awesome considering it's our first ride out. Going out again tomorrow too and hoping my shoulder cooperates. Plan to take it easy and not go so fast. I have to remember to stop and stretch my arms more this next time.

MojoGrrl

04-07-2012, 08:02 PM

Did a century today - first one on a single bike (not on the tandem) since August last year, and on my BRAND NEW Scott Contessa Foil carbon aero bike (with a new Garmin Edge 500). 104 miles, 6068 feet of elevation gain (went up a 4800 foot mountain - very long, slow climb and very fast and freezing cold descent). My new bike was great and for the first time ever, I managed to take off up some hills and leave my super-cyclist boyfriend in the dust! And in the big ring!! I think I'm going to like my bike.

tzvia

04-07-2012, 08:42 PM

Did my (usually) constant wind ride today. Typically I get an onshore flow that just saps me all the way to the beach (which is beyond the end of the Santa Monica Mountains in my photos). This time, the wind was gusting from the W/NW and W/SW so I had to work to stay in my lane. Rode down to Pacific Cost Hwy and up and down the cost a bit but the wind at the beach seemed to be coming from both directions; no tailwind anywhere and it was cold. Wished I had my shell but I didn't. Normally get a nice tailwind back to the outlet mall just off the 101 about 10 miles from the beach but the wind was gusting sideways in both directions, becoming a headwind again as I got within 5 miles of the car. I was dirtier than I get mountain biking in those mountains as that wind blew find sand all over me;it was in my hair and is even now still coming out of my eyes. My legs feel like lumps of fat. Fun ride.

I did stop at one point to see what was being grown and thought I should take a pic or two with my crummy phone. Looks like basketball sized cabbage.

http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k607/Tzvia2/theroad.jpg
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k607/Tzvia2/cabbage.jpg

murielalex

04-08-2012, 09:24 AM

Rode out along the ocean again today, but made it farther than I have before, 38.2 miles. I was also a windy day, but beautiful. I had sand stuck to my face, legs, and arms when I got home. Just took a shower, and now to go clean my bike.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l17/vstanbury/40cac772.jpg

Crankin

04-08-2012, 11:41 AM

It took all of my will to get out the door today. I didn't get dressed until 1:45.
Did my most regular loop of 15.8 miles. It was another grey, and very windy day, but not quite as biting cold as Friday. DH and I swore to make a slow ride, which we did, until at about mile 10, I saw a couple pull out of a side street, in front of us. They looked young and very kitted up in bibs with a crazy print. We weren't even really trying, but we passed them and then picked it up until we got into our neighborhood.
I'm glad I went, but I am hoping for a sunny ride soon. From the looks of the weather report, that won't be any time soon.

surgtech1956

04-08-2012, 12:06 PM

Congrats everyone on your weekend rides. I only did 6 miles around the neighborhood yesterday.:(

Fredwina

04-08-2012, 12:29 PM

A litlle cold saturday, but sunny:
16 miles To Schenectady:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2AxHBBCyBt8/T4B6JdDkk6I/AAAAAAAARl8/rwJDf-gE0PA/s640/100_0678.JPG
The Mohawk:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fvaSyd6b4wY/T4B6SSLEpDI/AAAAAAAARmU/2kyc3sJ1Ezs/s640/100_0681.JPG
Nope, I haven't gotten lost:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mZQkjBYzoCY/T4B6eU7IvVI/AAAAAAAARm0/juTNccbA1IQ/s640/100_0685.JPG
16 miles later:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IMNPapQD5Ss/T4B6iCbrAZI/AAAAAAAARm8/IYoE8B0_yug/s400/100_0686.JPG
A little late for Women's history month (should have zoomed in )
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ByH7ud18OQQ/T4B6uv4a8YI/AAAAAAAARnc/MkJU8M7p260/s640/100_0690.JPG
coimg down the hill at Knolls Atomic lab:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2my0XPvNTfw/T4B6x36r1kI/AAAAAAAARns/hAKSAGZyixU/s640/100_0692.JPG
Past Niskayuna depot:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ame2347FD0c/T4B66df0JHI/AAAAAAAARn8/TfZhUTF-zX4/s640/100_0695.JPG
and Almost home:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JzD7H0rbjCE/T4B7GgM2UXI/AAAAAAAARoU/iLkQ-Hq0_LE/s640/100_0699.JPG

murielalex

04-08-2012, 03:47 PM

Beautiful pics, Fredwina! I miss the countryside up north.

limewave

04-09-2012, 06:16 AM

I rode my bike home from my Aunt's house after our Easter dinner yesterday. She lives about 30 miles north of us and, conveniently, there's a bike path that starts just a few miles from my home that goes all the way to her house! It was a nice way to end the evening. I added a few extra miles for a 36 mile ride. :)

Melalvai

04-09-2012, 07:08 AM

I should have worn sunscreen.

A couple weeks ago we did this ride (http://www.kirksvilledailyexpress.com/community/blogs/bicycling_and_walking_around_kirksville) (scroll down to "Hwy K Ride Report"--for some reason it's not giving me the url for that specific post). Someone emailed me after she read that post and said "The house in that picture is mine. Knock on our door if you ever need water, or if no one is home there's a pump in the yard."

One problem I've had with riding around here is that it is SO rural, there's no stores or any place to get water. I drink a bottle per hour, so a 5-hr ride means I need 5 bottles of water! That's a lot of water to carry.

If I could just get in the mindset though, because it is so rural, people are super friendly like her, and I know they'd love to refill my water bottle if I'd just knock on their door.

Owlie

04-09-2012, 10:17 AM

Congrats everyone on your weekend rides. I only did 6 miles around the neighborhood yesterday.:(

But you rode!

goldfinch

04-09-2012, 11:08 AM

limewave

04-09-2012, 11:14 AM

We live in kind of a "free-way" for local cyclists. It is not unusual for friends and acquaintances to stop by our house for a bathroom break, water-bottle fill, emergency snack, directions, quick bike-repair . . . .

And beginning next year the bike path to the north of us will be extended and go right by our house! I'm really excited about this. I imagine we'll have even more cyclists stopping by when that happens. I'm thinking about getting a bench to put in our front yard where weary cyclists can stop and sit a spell.

Melalvai

04-09-2012, 03:31 PM

And beginning next year the bike path to the north of us will be extended and go right by our house! I'm really excited about this. I imagine we'll have even more cyclists stopping by when that happens. I'm thinking about getting a bench to put in our front yard where weary cyclists can stop and sit a spell.
That's awesome. If I lived on a bike path or bike route I would absolutely do that. Maybe a bench and rig up a pump or water spigot somehow.

Fredwina

04-15-2012, 03:39 AM

I'm Visiting my Mother this weekend, Mainly to check up on her. I decided to rent a bike:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-mJE8K7WAPoc/T4oAI3r7wtI/AAAAAAAARtk/4V4l_4ROxPc/s640/100_0739.JPG
KHS urban Xcape
Beale St.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6Eh8nkQvtVI/T4oAQ2g3kaI/AAAAAAAARt0/Ib6VtBpqkUU/s640/100_0741.JPG
Sun Studios
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XFxill8KKsk/T4oAXjnMrRI/AAAAAAAARuE/zy4RGJAfWmk/s640/100_0744.JPG
Where my mother now lives:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-deZuxswdBKc/T4oAsBfqKaI/AAAAAAAARuk/vTUnOPlm7uM/s640/100_0749.JPG
Across the street in Overton Park. Site of Elvis First Concert:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9Jp7CifOEGU/T4oAvrOzBuI/AAAAAAAARus/N8Bc0NHciBs/s640/100_0750.JPG
North Parkway:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-J6qY8dFmgBM/T4oBE9IsLvI/AAAAAAAARvE/KcsjP8OLdaE/s640/100_0755.JPG
The Pyramid:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wS-jOCuFWXQ/T4oBIfUtQCI/AAAAAAAARvM/zzEbN9CfQ40/s640/100_0757.JPG
The Mississippi:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CDDNisnbids/T4oBMFMWkxI/AAAAAAAARvU/N5bgIPjRDxM/s640/100_0760.JPG
Back Downtown:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aZo4OAdsTdw/T4oBon8tp6I/AAAAAAAARv8/oo8CMPDxgMc/s640/100_0765.JPG
Not the Peabody:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_5ifTFPbg2c/T4oBz5MqhBI/AAAAAAAARwM/I4dzMA4Pdko/s640/100_0767.JPG
Lunch:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CVXzyWlKtqg/T4oCJ-ZguvI/AAAAAAAARws/QMl3h81FRW8/s640/100_0772.JPG
What the LBS Owner showed up on:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JyjhwiV49pw/T4n_9pR0cJI/AAAAAAAARtU/DwEFOQ6cK7U/s640/100_0734.JPG

rubysoho

04-15-2012, 04:13 AM

Left at 6am yesterday morning to travel down to Raleigh, NC (4 hour drive) for a meetup with my Tour de Cure team. We met with the ride's organizer and then went on a fun 20 mile ride. The first hill right at the beginning of the ride wasn't great and I think not being warmed up was the issue but after that it was a great ride. We mostly ranged between 16 and 20 mph. On a downhill I was able to get up to 31mph! I didn't switch off the middle gear so I think I could have gone faster if I had used my full range of gears. It was really windy though and that made my bike be a smidge squirrely so I didn't want to push the envelope too much.

At the end I definitely felt I could have either pushed to go faster for the entire ride or could have ridden a longer route. There was the option to go on a longer ride but a few of us opted to go the a Beer Fest. :D

Crankin

04-15-2012, 04:26 AM

Got my first 50+ mile ride of the season over with! I say that, because, despite being in good shape, it's still painful when it involves 2500 ft. of climbing.
But, it was great. We rode out to Bolton Orchards, about 24 miles, and a couple of miles of getting lost right before lunch. Most of the tough climbing is before lunch, thankfully. The farm market was quiet, it's only April, but it was about 72 degrees out. After lunch, we slowly rode up the 4 mile moderate climb into Harvard center and then took a different way home, which involved less climbing. I was feeling a little bonky as we were heading into west Concord, so I stopped and finished my Luna Bar and drank a ton of Nuun. So, as we headed from there into Concord center, we were stopped at the light to cross the highway. A cyclist pulled up behind me. We said hi and when we crossed the highway, he took off, really fast. Then, there were some cars stopped for someone taking a left. As I was slowing, a car full of teens drove by us; I heard them yelling, but I couldn't really tell if they were just talking or yelling at us. All of a sudden, I see DH take off. I thought he was getting a burst of testosterone and chasing the fast cyclist. When I caught him, he said that as he was slowly passing the teens, one of them purposely opened his door to hit DH :eek:. He pounded on their car and said he wanted to smash the window, but of course, he didn't. I asked if got the license plate, but he didn't.
It's pretty rare that stuff like this happens around here. It's very busy, with lots of tourists here for Patriot's Day celebration tomorrow and people not knowing where they are going, so I was super alert yesterday. But, I don't think they were tourists. They looked like super entitled little Concord boys.

Catrin

04-15-2012, 05:18 AM

Crankin - I am so sorry to read this but so glad that your DH didn't get hit! Pity he didn't get the license plate.

I've taken a full week off the bike and planned to have a good 26 mile ride today to test my commuting route to work...temps are fantastic, sun is shining - winds are 20-30 mph all day today. No road riding for me :( Tomorrow I am off work and it is STILL supposed to be windy.... So I will go for a walk today (not in the woods), and if I have to hook the trainer back up tomorrow I will - but if it is just a little less windy I can ride in my favorite local park. I HAD wanted to mountain bike tomorrow but with torrential rains all day yesterday the trails will likely be still closed - beginner trails take longer to drain.

I know some of you ride in much higher winds, but frankly, I've problems staying in my lane when they are that high. I don't know how you women do it!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike...I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike! (channeling Queen for a few seconds).

Owlie

04-15-2012, 06:43 AM

Catrin

04-15-2012, 06:59 AM

Yeah, really. I took the week off simply because I was wiped out. Now that I actually want to ride, it's too windy--I don't want to risk damaging that abdominal muscle even more than last Saturday's ride did. I think it's going to be the trainer and yoga today...

Smart woman - we are both learning :)

It does look, however, like the winds will be low enough for me to ride in Eagle Creek Park at 7 this evening - as long as the sustained winds are <21mph then I can ride in the park - most of it is pretty protected from the winds but there are portions that aren't. So I CAN ride tonight and tomorrow night it looks like, just later than I ordinarily would. I will take it!

goldfinch

04-15-2012, 07:09 AM

I am in a town where I spend spring and fall. I learned about a Sunday group ride that has people of all sorts of riding levels. It leaves in 5 minutes. The sky looks too much like rain, forecast is 60% chance of thunderstorms with winds 20-30mph, gusts to 40mph. Chickening out. :(

I think that I will try a run.

redrhodie

04-15-2012, 08:16 AM

I did my lbs ride yesterday. It is really growing in popularity. There were probably around 30 of us.

We headed in a different direction than we've gone before, but I knew the roads well. It used to be my old commute years ago, back when I had my Dolce. It made me feel good to remember how hard this route used to feel to me, and how strong I felt yesterday. We were averaging 18 uphill at one point. Not too shabby.

We rode into Ninigret Park and did a few laps around the crit track for "fun" :rolleyes:. Oh, the memories. I think I found my suitcase of courage lying there, battered and empty, from last September. Ha.

At one point, the road was covered in rocks the must have spilled from a truck. Golf ball sized. They came up fast and the we didn't see them until it was too late. Luckily, no one fell, but I got hit in the head by one that was kicked up by a passing car. Thank God for helmets.

Other than that, it was an awesome ride, with some of my favorite people to ride with. But, the continuing growth of the group makes me nervous. It feels more dangerous.

Gypsy

04-15-2012, 08:29 AM

I had a great ride today. Super windy, but the temperature was great, the sun was shining and I felt so alive. This is why I ride my bike!

Slowspoke

04-15-2012, 08:47 AM

I am feeling rather smug about beating mother nature. I was whining about needing to go grocery shopping and how ugly it was to shop on a Sunday. Crowds of rude people are not my thing! I checked the weather channel and it said rain at 12:30 through 2. I thought great, when I get home in the rain, I won't be able to ride. DUH I jumped off the couch, grabbed my dog (he runs on the walkie dog when I do short rides) and off we went. We got in a quick 4 miles. It still has not rained but the radar looks really ugly. Now I am going to wait a few hours so I don't have to unload groceries in the rain. Lesson learned? Ride first, chores don't go away!!!

Hoping to get in a longer ride tonight. While I wait this out, I think I will try to make pop bottle fenders for my commuter. :cool:

Kubla

04-15-2012, 11:11 AM

Although my first 2012 ride was unusually early for me (late March), I wasn't able to ride again until today due to scheduling/weather issues.

Beautiful weather-sunny, a little breezy and warm enough to ride without a jacket. My goal was 10-12 miles; I managed 13+ and could have easily stayed out longer. (I say easily now, but I would have paid for it dearly tomorrow if I hadn't stopped when I did.) The route was a perfect combination of gentle hills, scenic stretches and straightaways that invited some short sprints.

I had to cross two busy roads (at a crosswalk) and am still amazed at the motorists that will not slow down for a "pedal-destrian" around here. Or, one side will stop to allow a crossing-while the other side speeds on through. <Sigh>

Crankin

04-15-2012, 11:28 AM

Did another 32 miles today. It's about 78-80 and partly cloudy. Good thing, for the cloudy. We did one of the rides we lead, but made it a little shorter so we could eat lunch at a convenient spot. Only one big hill, lots of rolling hills. This ride goes through Concord, Sudbury, Stow, Acton, and back to Concord. I won't even say how slow my average was, but it was sort of intentional after yesterday's sufferfest. My back is a little wacky, but not as bad as it was when I woke up today.
It's supposed to be 90 here tomorrow. They are very worried about the runners in the marathon. I think I will be riding in the early AM.
There seems to be about 2-3X the amount of traffic this weekend. What is going on?

Reesha

04-15-2012, 12:49 PM

I did somewhere between 50 and 60 today. The first 30 were so pleasant and easy and I really should have been putting two and two together. Basically I had a 30 mph sustained tailwind the whole way out. On the way back? A 30 mph sustained headwind with gusts up to 46! I also forgot my sunglasses since it was cloudy and getting dust, bugs, and other debris blown at you at those speeds is really unpleasant. Also my eyelashes were getting blown sideways! And then I failed to put on sunblock and my arms are nice and pink. Ugh. Well, at least I have palmer's cocoa butter formula on hand, and at least the first 30 miles were great!

redrhodie

04-15-2012, 12:58 PM

Reesha

04-15-2012, 03:58 PM

I'd never have gone out had I checked. Well I might have done an E-W route instead. That tailwind was mighty nice! Too nice! "Paying the piper" is an awesome expression!

bluebug32

04-15-2012, 04:03 PM

I did 48 miles and 4,450 feet of climbing today. Was a gorgeous, summery day so I wanted to take full advantage of it. Lots of other cyclists out (including many women!).

Catrin

04-15-2012, 04:36 PM

I feel lazy today after reading about the other rides, but I did manage to get out and put in an easy 20 miles after the winds slowed tonight - it wasn't the ride I had planned for day but I will take it :) After all of the food I ate at church this afternoon I HAD to get something in regardless!

Owlie

04-15-2012, 04:38 PM

I didn't go out. It didn't let up here until close to dark. :( I'm going to take a break from writing this scholarship application and get in some time on the trainer...

makbike

04-15-2012, 04:50 PM

I got an early start but not early enough as the winds kicked up about 20 miles into my planned metric century. The first 20 miles or so were great but then it became a battle - the cross winds were literally moving me on the road and the head winds were unbelievable. The best I could do was hit a top speed of 11 mph while riding into the wind. Needless to say it made for a tough 62 miles but I completed it and glad I did. I have 2 1/2 weeks let in my prep plan before DH and I tackle our first century. Hope the winds die down by then!

azfiddle

04-15-2012, 06:12 PM

Yesterday was rainy and extremely cold for April in Tucson. And did I mention windy (30 mph with gusts over 40). So I didn't ride but my DH attempted a 600k brevet. He finished 400k at 4 am and decided not to get up and try to finish this morning. Kudos to him though- it was brutal!

Today I rode 10 miles through Tucson to go to the twice a year "bike swap meet". I only bought a cookie from the youth cycling club but there was a gorgeous Specialized Amira with Ultegra at one booth for $3000- probably could have been negotiated down. I'm happy with my Ruby though. Then I rode to meet friends for a relatively easy ride - ended up about 25 miles or so.

We're usually part of a group that doesn't stop anywhere but for water/snacks/restroom, but we got sidetracked by a chalk festival at the mall, and stopped to draw our own pictures. Then we took a little back road to see the miniature horses and long-horned cattle. It was fun.

Sorry, I don't know how to turn that one picture from being sideways.

WindingRoad

04-15-2012, 06:27 PM

Saturday I rode, not far, at all. Did my first 'real' mountain bike ride since moving out east. It was a bit harder than I originally thought it would be but I survived. I did cut out early because I was just getting so mentally fatigued and I didn't want to crash just because I was tired. I will say I crossed my first creek and actually went down two VERY steep downhills. It's a good thing my bike better at descending than I am, otherwise that could have ended badly. :D I went back to that park again today to do a trail run on much of the same part we rode but managed to find a whole bunch MORE trails in the process. Kinda cool. This of course was my first trail run in a LOOOOONG time so I know when I wake up in the morning and I can't move I will be thinking of ways to roll out of bed and crawl to the bathroom. :eek: I did some stretching this evening to hopefully work some of that pain out of my muscles but only morning will tell. Wish me luck that I can move... goodnight everyone.

luv2climb

04-16-2012, 06:39 AM

Rode Rattlesnake Bar Road between Pilot Hill and Folsom Lake. It's another nice route with over 3,000' of climbing in only 22 miles. I've only ridden this road one other time (October 2010), and back then it was part of a longer ride so it wasn't nearly as pleasant due to almost bonking.

I got stung by a honeybee in Pilot Hill. It flew in my truck and had hitched a ride in my lap for God knows how long. I didn't notice it until I put my left hand in my lap and got stung in the pinky. Luckily the healing effects of exercise eliminated the pain within a couple minutes of climbing on my bike and riding away.

The bee was on the bottom of my shirt, so I walked over to a nearby bush and used one of the branches to nudge the bee off of me without having to touch it. The stinger stayed in the bee, so I had to be extra careful.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/168639182

Here's my usual sufferfest video full of suffer sounds on the climbs, so be forwarned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQfZW8mod0E

Here's the pics I took on the way back to Pilot Hill from Folsom Lake.

Top of first big climb heading towards Folsom Lake
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s66/hardmf1/viewfromtopofRattlesnakeBarRoadclimb4-15-12.jpg

Top of second (and most difficult) big climb heading towards Folsom Lake
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s66/hardmf1/viewofFolsomLakefromtopofRattlesnakeBarRoadclimb.jpg

Private road sign
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s66/hardmf1/animalfarm.jpg

Crankin

04-16-2012, 07:55 AM

I'm counting today as part of my weekend riding, since it's a holiday here in Massachusetts.
DH and I did a quick 15.2 mile ride, for my fastest average this year. It's *hot* and humid, too. We had to fight tourists, bad drivers, and parade marchers leaving the Patriot's Day parade near the end of the ride. I rode 103 miles in the past 3 days, plus I ran/walked 3 miles earlier this morning, before riding.
Now to rest.

Fredwina

04-20-2012, 02:23 AM

enjoy!
http://youtu.be/yAp1I9N7Ao0

rubysoho

04-20-2012, 02:55 AM

Heading out this afternoon with a new cycling friend. We had talked last summer/fall about riding together but it never really happened. He is showing me something that is locally called "the wall." Basically a place 10 - 15 miles (depending on where I start) away where I can do some decent hill sets. :D

When I figured out it was 10 miles away he acted pouty and asked if that was too far. I told him it would be a good warm up! :p

Can you tell I'm excited? Normally I wait until AFTER the ride to post. :D I hope I don't jinx the day and work makes me stay late or something.

ETA: Post ride update. It was amazing, fun, challenging, and I think I have a new friend. Perfect ride, really. Something over 20 miles total. I was having so much fun I never looked at my computer - even at the end of the ride.

Kubla

04-20-2012, 03:15 PM

Had a great 13+ mile ride with a friend on upper Cape Cod today. I took my Jamis Aurora because my friend has a comfort bike with mountain bike tires-and had not ridden yet this year. (Not to say that I was much better off...it was only my third ride.)

Weather was near-perfect; it was windy in spots but the wooded areas offered enough protection to keep it from being an issue. We went on some packed dirt roads, and although my bike had some problems with looser sand pockets, she handled pretty well overall. I absolutely love this bike! In many stretches, my friend was pedaling away while Aurora just rolled along effortlessly. There's nothing like steel.

Crankin

04-20-2012, 04:12 PM

I rode 21.5 miles with my friend, who I've sucked into cycling over the past couple of years.
It was fun. I stayed behind her for about 7 miles, as my right inner thigh hurts from something... she's slower than me, but I didn't mind waiting for her at all. It was a gorgeous day, about 78, a little windy and sunny.

MojoGrrl

04-22-2012, 09:17 AM

Luv2Climb - Now that the weather's nice (and hot in the valley) I'm probably going to start heading back up that way (Colfax/Grass Valley) for some sufferfest riding - we have a friend that lives out there. Maybe we could make a group ride of it?

This weekend:

Friday - commuted to work on the tandem (29 miles and 1766 feet of climbing in) and we start at 6 am: it was already warm by 7. We rode from work to my parents' house (37 miles, 3352 feet of climbing) and it was miserably hot; I felt almost heat-exhausted (weak, stomach pain) and we took nearly three hours to get there. Not fun.

Saturday - did Bike Around the Buttes in Sutter, trying out a tandem we were considering buying (a Calfee Dragonfly). Very nice, light bike but did not quite fit my significant other and the saddle that I thought would work for me was rather uncomfortable - 104 miles on a new saddle is not a smart idea. It was quite warm from early on in the day but we made pretty good time (six and half hours, riding time 5:41).

Owlie

04-22-2012, 10:17 AM

Nothing this weekend, sadly. I really want to burn through some of these notes before Tuesday.

Crankin

04-22-2012, 11:41 AM

No rides since Friday; 2 runs, though.

Catrin

04-22-2012, 12:53 PM

Trail building activities mixed with a lot of hiking yesterday, 19.5 mile somewhat windy ride this afternoon. I wanted to ride further but my quads both started telling me that it was time to go home...so I did (they are da boss). It is hard to come home when I am not yet tired but trying to do better at listening to my body. I've been especially hard on my legs this last week even though there have only been two road rides and 1 easy mountain bike ride - they got hit pretty hard at the gym. Tomorrow is a rest day.

Fredwina

04-22-2012, 01:20 PM

Did 50 yesterday and 25 today. feel good to be back to somewhat normal.

Becky

04-22-2012, 01:32 PM

A hat trick for me this weekend: I rode 12 mountain miles on the singlespeed on Friday with DH. Saturday, DH and I rode to a friend's house to take her on a short ride. She's been off the bike for some time, so we wanted to encourage her to get back out there. By the time we got home, we were at 35 miles and 2 nasty driver encounters. Sunday, we rode to work in the rain. So cold, despite rain gear! If I'm going to keep doing this, I need better rain gear.

It was a good weekend :)

redrhodie

04-23-2012, 04:22 AM

I did the lbs ride on sat. It was foggy and drizzling, a perfect day for flat tires and crashes. Luckily, no one got hurt (only one crash) and we had enough tubes for the flats.

30 cruddy miles.

carolync

04-23-2012, 06:35 AM

I did my first organized ride of the season. Ocean to Bay ride in Delaware. 50 gorgeous sunny flat miles will only a little headwind.

withm

04-23-2012, 06:41 AM

I did my first organized ride of the season. Ocean to Bay ride in Delaware. 50 gorgeous sunny flat miles will only a little headwind.

Hey! I did that ride. I did the "30" but got 36 miles out of it. I rode with a friend who was doing her first long ride after double hip replacement; it was slow but she did it all. Wasn't it a beautiful day?!?!?

carolync

04-23-2012, 06:49 AM

Hey! I did that ride. I did the "30" but got 36 miles out of it. I rode with a friend who was doing her first long ride after double hip replacement; it was slow but she did it all. Wasn't it a beautiful day?!?!?

It was. Almost perfect! I was concerned on Friday since it was so foggy, glad it cleared by the morning.

It was the first time I have done that one.

Kudos to your friend, that's impressive.

Reesha

04-23-2012, 07:53 AM

On Saturday I lead a team ride through 40 miles of hilly West County. The kids were troopers... trooped right up some long (for Missouri) climbs and managed the whole thing in 3 hours which included a 15 minute break. The weather was a gorgeous 60 degrees for it too!

Yesterday I did a soggy, foggy, grimy 30 miles on the windswept flats of Madison County, IL. It was gross to say the least, one of those rides where you want to head straight for the steamy hot shower after you're done. This concludes a killer stretch of rides-- 250 miles in 8 days last week! No rest day required :)

AppleTree

04-23-2012, 01:21 PM

Friday I did the "Tulip Ride" in Mt Vernon, north of us about 30 miles. I have always wanted to ride up there at tulip time, but never got to till this year. There weren't all that many tulip fields, but we saw lots and lots of daffodils. It was nice being up there on a weekday, not as many distracted tourists looking at flowers instead of the road in front of them. :eek:

It was pouring rain when I left home, and let up just outside of Mt Vernon, and turned out to be a completely gorgeous day. There were only three other riders in the group, so we got to chat and enjoy a relaxed ride. It was about a 35 mile ride.

Saturday, we went out to the rail tail and I did 48.9 miles....so close to my goal, ha. Another gorgeous NW spring day. Seems like it is our turn for the warm weather and back east is getting hit with snow... weird. :confused:

azfiddle

04-23-2012, 08:57 PM

Saturday was an easy ride, 35 miles with more than half on the bike path. I did some birding on the way back, and mentored a new rider back but she had to put up with my birding spots. We were both pretty hot at the end.

Please take a look at my post about the "Bird-athlon" to see my ride report for Sunday- to the top of Mt. Lemmon as a part of the Tucson Audubon Birdathon event to raise money for wildlife habitat. We did it by bike- 68 miles, 8000 feet of climbing and 79 species of birds.

luv2climb

04-25-2012, 04:05 PM

The temps at the lower elevations on Sunday were in the upper 80s to 90, so I decided to go a bit higher for my weekly climbing. I picked a trail I've never been on before, Fleming Meadows. (http://trails.mtbr.com/cat/united-states-trails/california-trails/california-all-other-areas/trail/fleming-meadows/prd_165073_4518crx.aspx) This is at the bottom of Mormon Emigrant Trail, which is actually a road, not a trail.

I rode this trail in a counterclockwise direction, which gives you a nice climb for about two miles. It gets steeper at the start of the singletrack.

I caught up to three equestrians at the beginning of a singletrack descent, so I hung back a little and followed at what I thought was a proper safe distance. When they stopped in the middle of the trail, I stopped. That's when the last rider noticed me and said "Oh my God you're right behind us". Then she said "You're lucky our horses are okay with bikes".

Now maybe I'm wrong, but to me her tone of voice made it sound like she was peeved that I was there, and that she thought I was too close to the horses.

They pulled over a short time later and I thanked them as I passed. This is the first time I have had any kind of questionable encounter with equestrians. I don't know anything about horses other than to yield to them and try to stay out of their way, so if I did something wrong on yesterday's ride I really didn't mean to.

Lesson learned: always announce myself, or hang back even further. Maybe even stop and chill for a while to let them get far enough ahead.

When I finished the loop I rode the initial 1.5 mile climb up Mormon Emigrant Trail, which levels off and turns into a descent. As I climbed I kept hearing gunshots, so when I reached the top I got out my point-and-shoot and took a little video. I wish I had my new Zoom Q3 with me yesterday, as it records in stereo and the echo of the gunshots richocheted off the mountainsides for several seconds after the shots were fired. It would have sounded even better in stereo.

Fleming Meadows by freighttraininguphill at Garmin Connect - Details (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/170994625)

Here's the ride video. You can see and hear my encounter with the equestrians and judge for yourself starting at 5:57. As with all my videos, this one is 100% natural sound. That means plenty of suffer sounds on the climbs, so be forewarned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syUnL1YY8Tg

Here's the video of the gunshots, with plenty of bird sounds mixed in.

http://vimeo.com/40865645

Here's the video of the road climb and descent on Mormon Emigrant Trail. You can hear the gunshots as I approach the top of the climb starting at 3:17.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EOmQ0eu6-E

Here's a screenshot from the video as I came to a stop behind the equestrians.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s66/hardmf1/stoppedbehindequestriansonFlemingMeadowssingletrack.jpg

View of the snow-capped Sierras from the bottom of Mormon Emigrant Trail at Jenkinson Lake.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s66/hardmf1/viewofsnow-cappedSierrasfromMormonEmigrantTrailatJenkinsonLake.jpg

"YOUR GPS IS WRONG!!!" warning sign near the bottom of Mormon Emigrant Trail (screenshot from helmet-mounted ContourHD). This road is not plowed in the winter.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s66/hardmf1/yourgpsiswrong.jpg

Trailhead at the gravel area I parked in. The picture doesn't show just how steep this trail is. I'll have to check it out someday. ;)
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s66/hardmf1/unknownmtbtrailheadatMormonEmigrantTrailandJenkinsonLake.jpg

redrhodie

04-29-2012, 04:29 AM

Yesterday was Women's Ride Day. Of course, I was riding anyway, my usual Sat morning group. There were a lot more women than usual. Specialized sponsored the event, and we got free water bottles, sport beans, coffee and baked goods, which was awesome.

On the ride, we stopped and split into men's and women's groups, and I went with the men. I may have offended some people by not conforming, but my new motto is "I do what I want." It felt fine.

I felt super strong and pulled a bunch. Until the hill, where I was quickly dropped by almost everyone. My new nickname is Cavendish, and not because I can sprint. Oh well, if the fastest man in the world can't climb, I should be okay with it. It still feels possible that I'm not fully recovered from my cancer treatments, so maybe I'll use that excuse.

I also rode to the ride from work, so 40 miles. My longest ride this year.

malkin

04-29-2012, 05:20 AM

... my new motto is "I do what I want." ...My new nickname is Cavendish...

*picturing you on your bike as Eric Cartman with Pippi Longstocking's braids, in Cav's new Team Sky kit*

redrhodie

04-29-2012, 07:11 AM

Put some glasses on that image and there I am. ;)

TTUchick

04-29-2012, 07:49 AM

My LBS also held a Women's Ride Day event sponsored by Specialized. It was the first group ride I have participated in and while I was super nervous meeting new people, it was a fun time. (I usually only ride with my boyfriend or my sister-in-law and her sister)

Until yesterday, I had only rode my new road bike twice: to/from my boyfriend's house and the bike shop for fit tweaking. It was amazing how 12.5 miles in the chilly wind just flew by because I was chatting with other women the entire way instead of focusing on the wind LOL

I think that I will start riding in the local no-drop club rides now :)

Reesha

04-29-2012, 08:14 AM

I competed in my first crit race today. The Bike Surgeon Belleville Crit. It was a balmy 50 degrees this morning... chilly. But the roads were dry and clear considering the crazy storms we had!

I got dropped on the first prime lap... but never got lapped. In fact, since the juniors and womens were racing simultaneously, I rode across the finish line with three of my junior boys (not drafting of course). My student Emmy stayed on with the rest of the women's field though (about 8 of them) and I am SO very proud of her. I am proud that I finished! Better luck next year-- hopefully I can stay on!

Our team kids took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the juniors race. I am ridiculously proud of them too! Great morning. Now for foodz :)

Catrin

04-29-2012, 08:25 AM

Awesome Reesha, glad you had fun! You may have been dropped, but not lapped and I think that is pretty darn cool!

No riding for me today - apparently my neck is happy with everything I throw at it...outside of the spinning bike. It is still a bit cranky today and while I COULD ride (want to so badly I can taste it), I am going to take the wiser route and just stretch and do my neck exercises and, perhaps, go for a hike.There won't be many opportunities over the next week to ride if we get all the rain they are forecasting, and I've not ridden outside since last weekend due to weather and schedule :( :( So I will be tied to the radar and hopefully be able to seize a couple of riding opportunities this week.

TTUchick - congratulations!

Fredwina

04-29-2012, 11:07 AM

Went over to MA and did this short trail yesterday:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8_lzE_0mPT8/T5x23zJ7ggI/AAAAAAAAR64/sC0u-f_Yt-4/s640/100_0848.JPG
Cheshire Reservoir
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-usNJsqf-TEQ/T5x26dz9k1I/AAAAAAAAR7A/VwjxKGWN6Xg/s640/100_0850.JPG
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-YfY1aRf_KNs/T5x3QPk0ZXI/AAAAAAAAR7w/YHvDvTenGb8/s640/100_0862.JPG
End in Adams:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fY5MMS1Y9xA/T5x3SDq-8MI/AAAAAAAAR74/B2TToGuEaiY/s640/100_0864.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Detjxu-7cMM/T5x3f9sHRxI/AAAAAAAAR8Y/ncRt08_HVUA/s640/100_0868.JPG
Today, I spent most of my ride time fixing a flat :(

Reesha

04-29-2012, 12:23 PM

Ahhh the Berkshires! One of my many homes. So lovely. Thank you for sharing!

murielalex

04-29-2012, 12:36 PM

Beautiful pics! This was the second weekend in a row of rain rain rain. I got on my trainer for a bit, but blech.... :(

Owlie

04-29-2012, 04:45 PM

I finally dragged myself out of the house and did a 19.2-mile ride, if only to get my total for the month over 100 miles. And I'm really glad I did. The lindens (I think that's what they are) were blooming, the bugs were out in force (I had to take off my helmet to shake them out of my hair!), and I'm sore for no good reason.

Luv2climb, I had a similar issue back in March with equestrians. I'm quite wary around horses, so I never quite know what to do if I need to pass one. Luckily, most of the ones I've come across are pretty chill. I guess it helps that I sing to myself while riding, so they figure "Oh, it's a human. That's nice" and ignore me. Anyway, I wound up behind a pair of equestrians after coming around a corner (singing to myself). They moved right, into the grassy verge next to the trail, so I figured they'd heard me. Apparently, though, the horses took some initiative in this, because one of the riders went "What the?! Oh, there was a bike behind us" as I passed. Either they're rather polite animals, or they found something interesting beside the trail.

indysteel

04-29-2012, 05:01 PM

I would suggest that you announce your presence from about 50 to 75 feet away as you approach equestrians. Don't yell; just let them know you're there with a friendly "hey there." From there, ask them how they want you to proceed. Do they want you to dismount before you pass? Hang back? Unless you want to get bucked in the head or feel responsible when the horse throws its rider, never ride up behind or pass a horse unannounced.

DolceVida

04-29-2012, 05:09 PM

We did 37 unexpectedly intense miles yesterday, after doing an hour of Trampoline Dodgeball earlier in the day. Then did 55 more today. I put in 10 miles on the trainer Friday night too. I am sore as HELL tonight!! I usually take Monday off, but I think if I want to be able to move tomorrow, I better at least spin easy on the trainer tomorrow morning too.

We rode all over the west side of Los Angeles. Went up some of the really steep hills in Palos Verdes for the first time today. Got my first real bike jerseys earlier this week from Primal Wear so I couldn't wait to get out there and look cute! :)

Crankin

04-29-2012, 05:40 PM

Some pics from our ride on the Cape Cod Rail Trail and other assorted places

Reesha

04-30-2012, 04:43 AM

Haha here's a shot of me grinning and bearing it during the Belleville Crit.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/75203_10150734664283655_511688654_9284928_637647878_n.jpg

carolync

04-30-2012, 10:59 AM

I did another organized ride, a poker run for the Lion's club. This weekend it was 37 miles, but with hills, well hills for this flatlander. Kicked my butt, but in a good way. Much more humbling a ride than the flat 50 miler I did the weekend prior.

azfiddle

05-05-2012, 04:58 AM

We did a moonlight ride in Saguaro National Park last night. It was the night before the actual full moon. We arrived at 7 and rode out to the picnic area to have a snack. Even before it got dark it was unbelievably beautiful- a reddish cast was on the Rincon Mountains as we approached and the moon was already up.

We rode back from the picnic area and then on to the 8 mile loop drive through the park. If I had not been a little concerned about rattlesnakes coming out, I would not have used a light at all, because it was so bright out.
We didn't see any snakes after all.

We stopped frequently to just enjoy the night. The temperature was perfect, the moon was breathtaking and it was a memorable ride.

Catrin

05-05-2012, 06:10 AM

Longest ride since my neck injury (26 miles) and I got to test my commuting route at the same time. It was still pretty dark when I left home so I got to test my Light and Sound Vis360 helmet lights, they worked well with my cheap Planet Bike light on the bar (flashing) and on the seat post.

I burned far more calories than expected - I always seem to do that when I am on unfamiliar routes. It isn't like it was hilly, outside of a couple of steepish bumps - I think that when it is a route I am unaccustomed to that I tend to work harder. I was also trying to use the big chain more frequently to become more efficient - faster on the flats at a lower cadence.There was also the unplanned sprint to get away from 2 pit bull mixes :eek: my first dog chase since one took a bite out of my calf last spring (and still isn't quite healed).

I had fun, the route is doable, and I felt far safer on the busy street in the 1-lane section than I thought I would. The lanes are quite wide so they can give me plenty of room without having to cross the line.

I made it too late to catch the opening of the Indpls 500 Mini-marathon but that's ok. I had a very nice morning. 65ish degrees, winds <7mph. I will take it ;)

Crankin

05-05-2012, 11:12 AM

Just got back from leading our club's annual new member ride, which is really just the first official ride of the season. We had lots of things going against us: it's electronic recycling day in Concord and the street we start off on as well as the parking was blocked off. It rained through last night and the roads were wet this morning. It was cloudy, though not too cold.
We figured how to lead the people out. Only about 20 people came, which was great, split into 2 groups of 10. DH and I led the "faster" group. There was a lot of traffic, an altercation with a Prius :eek:, who decided to go on the other side of the yellow line while our group was turning left, and a few other azzhole driver things. But, the ride was uneventful and pretty. We were all together, which as the sweep I appreciate, but in the second half, the one other woman fell behind and I had to stay with her. She was very nice, but I was getting antsy. The slower group had fun, too.
Afterwards, we went out to lunch with our cycling friends (she led the other group) and one other leader we know well. All in all, a good ride of 23 miles.

Fredwina

05-05-2012, 12:41 PM

The Kitty Toll Booth. Some other riders paid for me, or I'd be in big trouble:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MZRqgHHsLv8/T6VcQJ8NeFI/AAAAAAAAR_M/2rskaNQy9N4/s640/100_0889.JPG
Construction from Irene:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h6YKwyPf4QU/T6VcCjG_kvI/AAAAAAAAR-s/g9GGHu_mS6w/s640/100_0885.JPG
Fultonville:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-G9cEzMT32M0/T6Vb4jV5I3I/AAAAAAAAR-U/THb6Ipnt7eQ/s640/100_0881.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rOJQYF1I6y4/T6Vbz1_lYSI/AAAAAAAAR-E/6rXobsMzxqY/s640/100_0879.JPG
Beauty is where you find it:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oUT6kevVTxE/T6VbpjTclTI/AAAAAAAAR9k/eTO_4aV5asY/s640/100_0875.JPG

7rider

05-05-2012, 04:09 PM

Holy smokes.

Did my first N2 group ride with my club since - oh, maybe October.
Got dropped about a half dozen times. Thankfully we had some re-group spots.
I've been doing a fair bit of riding - but slow commutes or slow rides with one or two friends. This was my first hard effort in a group in a long time, and wow. My legs felt it. Ice bath when I got home felt great.

57 rolling miles at 17.1 mph. Totally spent.

hebe

05-12-2012, 07:31 AM

21 miles for me this morning through the country lanes. I'm chuffed to bits as that's my longest ride so far. It was the first sunny (and dry!) day this week. I saw a hare racing me through a field, and a garden den flying a Skull and Crossbones. Navigation was off for the last few miles - one wrong turn, one long walk up half of a long steep hill, then my lovely Vita gamely managed an off-road path saving me a bit of time.

deanywalker21

05-12-2012, 08:45 AM

My hubby and I biked to breakfast with our road bikes. I have been riding the Vita so much that I forgot how to shift the Ruby <g>. Our small town has a great place for a simple breakfast. A nice easy friendly ride with a not so easy headwind....hey but it was a tailwind on the way back. Logged a whole 13 miles.

Kubla

05-12-2012, 10:17 AM

Got off to a late start due to finding a deceased raccoon in my corral that needed to be removed before letting my horse out for the day. I'm a little concerned as to how it got there but since it's Saturday, the PD said no one would have been able to pick it up until Monday. I buried it in the woods for lack of a better plan.

Anyway, once aboard the bike I hit three local yard sales-finding something useful at each one. I logged 10 miles and hope to get out again tomorrow or Monday.

redrhodie

05-12-2012, 10:44 AM

We rode a pretty route up to Ninigret today and did some laps around the track. Well, I only did a lap, because I was hot by the time we got there, and stopped to remove a layer. It was one of those days where the temp rose 30° in a few hours.

My bike had maintenance on a squeaky pedal this week, and in the process of fixing the squeak, my wrench discovered my bottom bracket was shot. So, maybe that was part of my climbing issue, because I was up front on every hill today, and not once did I think (in Mark Cavendish's voice) "I'm not a climber." That guy's the little devil on my shoulder sometimes.

sookiesue

05-12-2012, 12:56 PM

30 beautiful miles in the Oregon countryside. Fields of crimson clover, lots of cows, horses, llamas, sheep, goats, and even passed a house with a bunch of donkeys in the yard! At one point I rode past some type of hawk (wish I'd had the presence of mind to stop and take a photo so I could find out what kind) sitting on a fence post about 8 feet away from me. What an amazing way to start the morning.

I did the same route I did Thursday evening and I shaved 4 minutes off my time! I've been stuck at the same average MPH (14ish) forever. It seemed like no matter how hard or how easy I've been riding, I still end up with a 14mph average. So I'm trying to really push myself on flats and downhills, and also to stay in the middle ring on as many climbs as I can to try to regain strength for the summer.

Ahhhh...I love Oregon!

indysteel

05-12-2012, 01:45 PM

Catrin

05-12-2012, 01:52 PM

I love Oregon, too, Sookiesue! Alas, my own home state isn't quite as pretty. DH and I did 44 miles today. Nice route in that there was little traffic and we didn't get chased by any dogs. This was our longest road ride of the year. I felt pretty good minus some neck and shoulder discomfort near the end.

So glad to hear that you and your DH had such a good ride :) No dogs is even better! I just got in from a walk at Eagle Creek - now off to find the foam roller and stretch. Hopefully I can ride again Monday if I behave now.

sookiesue

05-12-2012, 02:31 PM

I am not familiar with the Indianapolis area, but my brother and his family live in Bloomington, IN. I've had the pleasure of visiting them a few times and it is lovely. Maybe next time I visit I'll borrow a bike and check it out on two wheels!

Owlie

05-12-2012, 02:39 PM

I just got home from a 48-mile ride. I got start, because I was listening to the voice in my head that wanted to crawl back under the covers. In hindsight, I probably should have listened, because I rode both Thursday and Friday. But I wanted a long ride, something around 30. So I rode up to Xenia, then south on the Little Miami trail. When I left my house I was hungry, despite eating breakfast. I was still doing okay to ride 30 by the time I got to Xenia (it would only have been another 6 miles south of Xenia to do 30). When I got to the 6.5-mile marker, my brain said "Let's do 40!." Okay...

I passed by a big snapping turtle just past the 10.5 mile marker, and stopped to take some pictures. I realized then that I was really really hungry...and was down to 1 tube of shot blocks. Hm. I could ride the 10 back to Xenia, or I could keep going and hope there was something nearby. I had to guess that there was, because of the relatively large numbers of cyclists and the occasional pedestrian--so that means that there's a trailhead nearby, which generally means at least some sort of food. 4 miles down the trail, I found Corwin, which has a nice little restaurant near the trail. One chicken sandwich, chips, a pickle, half a can of Pepsi and a cone of cookies and cream later, I headed back. I think my legs were jelly by the time I got back to the car. I called DBF to tell him I was done with the ride. He asked "Why don't you go out and do another two miles?" I think he heard the look I gave him...

I am tired. I think it's time to go take a shower and eat some ridiculously large quantity of mac and cheese. Not at the same time.

Fredwina

05-13-2012, 09:56 AM

I did about 38 yesterday on my bent along the mohawk. Wonderful, except for not sill camera:( but:
http://youtu.be/khSWHdKbiac
Today, I had my still camerahttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1rX5PmfATVQ/T6_tqRgOWrI/AAAAAAAASDU/OY43PJfcUEA/s640/100_0921.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J7oZUenrcQ8/T6_twbtii4I/AAAAAAAASDk/qAg2oJKcSqc/s640/100_0923.JPG
The Erie Canal in Waterford
Old Champlain Canal:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FzwvUVgZOoA/T6_t0AuWDWI/AAAAAAAASDs/COyuOxURdsY/s640/100_0924.JPG
Old house:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7_nN0tnb5Z0/T6_uGRue4tI/AAAAAAAASEU/FbCQQBiKN_Y/s640/100_0930.JPG
Back in Waterford:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2YpQZVjlvwU/T6_uM7NzZkI/AAAAAAAASEs/nHK8wEbLDb8/s640/100_0933.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5SEQIJQxf4o/T6_uRNVHyMI/AAAAAAAASE8/7FPbVyKs0CE/s640/100_0936.JPG

Catrin

05-13-2012, 11:54 AM

Looks like a beautiful day Fredwina! This weekend I am living through the lovely photos and stories of rides this weekend, but hope to be back on the bike tomorrow ;)

How often do you ride through this area? It is just gorgeous and I love the historical ties!

Reesha

05-13-2012, 12:38 PM

We had our long team ride yesterday... 50 miles of St. Louis rollers! The best part about the ride was that we rode out from the home of one of our students and rode back straight into a fully prepared banquet. Guacamole with pomegranate seeds, ham and cheese sliders, pizza... HEAVEN!!!!

I had a great day. Beautiful weather!

Fredwina

05-13-2012, 01:05 PM

It's only abou 10 miles away, so I'm by there quite often. Glad you liked the pictures.

goldfinch

05-13-2012, 01:08 PM

This weekend I had my best ride and my worst ride.

Yesterday I rode with an experienced rider and got some tips, especially for how to tackle the rolling hills in the area I am visiting. Over the 30 mile ride I had my best time ever, averaging 14mph, which is way above my usual 12.6 that I have been doing in this area. It was through Amish country, with nice rolling hills and little traffic. It was so much fun to have a riding partner!

Today I joined his group of about 16 for their usual Sunday ride. He said that the groups usually splits into three different clusters, from very speedy to a "leisure ride" group. I could not keep up with the leisure riders. After about 7 miles I was behind everyone by about a mile. Some were only going to the first stop, about 20 miles in. They were passing me on the return trip. Some of the riders were still at the first stop when I got there. My mentor kindly fixed me up with a couple who were going to do only a few miles more and then turn around. I protested that I could not keep up with them on the way in and probably would be slower still on the way out. They said no problem and so I had company for the next 28 miles to home. The guy in our small group of three even ran interference with a scary dog that came snarling after us.

Even though everyone was nice it was demoralizing. I had to stop and rest several times during the return trip. I would see myself lag behind as my riding partners would coast and take it easy. I had to work the entire ride. My average speed ended up only 12.5mph over 48 miles, which is even slower than my usual slow speed. If I had been alone I would have called the spouse for a rescue. Or I would have cried the last ten miles. :)

I think I had two problems. One is doing this long ride the day after a fairly long and rigorous ride, even though I felt great after yesterday's ride. The other problem is that I am not fit enough to keep up with even the slow riders in this group.

Maybe someday.

murielalex

05-13-2012, 01:13 PM

I'm also too slow to ride with most groups. Hopefully, I'll get better over the next few months.

A friend and I had a short 15-mile ride along the ocean with a nasty wind the whole time. Neither one of us wanted to go much further, but it was still fun. It took me 40 mins to clean my bike. Sand gets in every nook and cranny!

Owlie

05-13-2012, 01:45 PM

My problem is that I'm too fast for the slow groups and too slow for the fast groups. Anything involving hills? Forget it. I am a terrible climber.

Rain today, so no riding.

My list of goals for the season has expanded to include "develop sufficient lung capacity to bellow "ON. YOUR. LEFT!!" at a troop of Boy Scouts while attempting to pass them at about 20 mph...

azfiddle

05-13-2012, 07:49 PM

I hear you guys- I am also too slow for the faster folks but too fast for a slow group. The group I ride with has some really fast people and some folks that aren't much faster than I am, but I am usually last...

My weekend rides were pretty good! Friday night, my DH and I "rode out to dinner" for the first time, went out for gelato after, and then it was so beautiful we turned on the lights and rode on a new section of a bike path that was recently completed.

Saturday, did a nice ride, but didn't eat enough and nearly bonked. I knew we were going to do a short cafe stop so I didn't listen to my body telling me to eat and rode another 7 miles (mostly downhill) but it was a good wake-up call.

WindingRoad

05-13-2012, 07:58 PM

I did the local clubs fundraiser ride this weekend and now I know why they call the one part the ICU, intensive climbing unit. Ouch. I knew it was a hilly ride but apparently is was 4400 ft of elevation gain hilly. Now it all makes sense why I fell asleep in the grass waiting on my group to get done after the ride. My legs were toast at the end of that.

Catrin

05-19-2012, 09:01 AM

25 miles this morning, and I finally did the ride I've wanted to since moving to my current apartment. I rode to my LBS and home again - well - via downtown Zionsville :) The route I took has been intimidating to me but after two successful work commutes I put on my big girl panties and went for it. I didn't think there would be much traffic at 9am on a Saturday morning and I was right :) The route through Zionsville grew longer than planned as they pretty much shut down the main route that I needed for a huge farmers market - I wil remember that.

The route home was quite different, I wasn't about to take the same route home again. I found my leg was complaining a bit on the climbs so I just relaxed and shifted to easier gears. 25 miles in 2 hours riding time, I will take it!

Crankin

05-19-2012, 02:52 PM

Yesterday afternoon I rode 30 miles with a friend. We set out to do "whatever" and when we had to make a decision point, I asked if she could handle mor than we usually do. It's just a perfect weekend, weather-wise. The ride yesterday was on all familiar roads in Acton, Stow, Boxboro, and a little in Littleton and Harvard. Near the end, we had a 2 mile climb that sort of sucks, but my friend soldiered on.
Today, we did a 40 mile ride in Tiverton and Little Compton, RI, Westport, MA. It's about a 90 minute drive to the start, but we missed doing this ride last year, due to weather. Drove down with our close friends and met another woman who is a leader for AMC. This ride always fools me. It is beautiful, by the ocean, salt marshes, farms, but most of it is slightly uphill. I think of it as flat, but the false flats, 2-5% grades and the wind (which was light today) always does me in. Afterwards, we changed clothes in the car and drove to the Sakonnet Winery, where it was so crowded, we tasted 3/6 we had paid for, and bought our wine and left. I guess that is what people do on a sunny day, instead of a 40 mile ride! We've been there before, so no big deal. I rode the Guru today and yesterday and I am pretty much at the same speeds as on my Kuota.
Got to shower and get ready for dinner out. I am not cooking; too tired.

shootingstar

05-19-2012, 03:13 PM

Rode just abit over 40+ km. today. First to a large bike shop where I've never been where it was humming with customers and people interested in bikes. It's a shop with 3 levels of merchandise.

Then off to our favourite creme puff place. Hurry on home to cook up dinner. Then off to movie to see "The Best Marigold Hotel" (Julie Dench, Maggie Smith are some of the actresses in it...)

Not sure where the cyclists were since the roads and paths were quiet. Maybe people stick close to home or off to the Rocky Mtns. 100 km. north ..by car.

Owlie

05-19-2012, 03:26 PM

I was going to do a 50-miler today, but woke up and really did not feel like riding. So I'm doing it tomorrow and used today to do errands and clean. I also should have been using it to study, but...

Reesha

05-19-2012, 03:53 PM

I did a race this morning. I didn't come in last place! I'm going to wait until pics surface to post my race report though :)

ZenBiker

05-19-2012, 04:37 PM

Had a great ride up a pretty canyon nearby. Moderate climbs, nothing all that steep, just 8 miles or so of going up then a fun run back down. Ran errands in town on the bike afterwards, for a total of about 32 miles. Nice way to spend a Saturday morning!

Reesha

05-20-2012, 09:11 AM

I did a 'quick' 50 miles. I left close to six am to get out and back before it got really hot.

It was lovely to be out when the Riverfront Trail along the Mississippi was so quiet. I did have some issues on the ride though-- my handlebar tape is coming off on the right after about 1500 miles. That was annoying! My right foot has also been a little hot spotty. Not blistery, just hot and uncomfortable right where the pedal is. This tends to start by Mile 20. I thought it might be me tightening my shoes too much but that doesn't seem to do much. It's not unbearable... I'll have to test the same on a longer ride. Hopefully I'll have it sorted by the time I arrive in Seattle for the start of the Big Ride.

Some pics from this morning!

Empty, early Chain of Rocks Bridge (Old Route 66 bridge)
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/547400_10150849404073655_511688654_9423762_1241658228_n.jpg

My new Sprintech Bar End Mirror! We are required to have a mirror on the big ride, I figured I'd get used to this one. It was $30 bucks at LBS and other than the biggest bumps this fully adjustable mirror stays put. I had to readjust it a few times when I accidentally knocked it out of wack with my hand and after some rail road tracks, but it's great!
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/35909_10150849400568655_511688654_9423736_1657652386_n.jpg

Native MO plants at the Columbia Bottoms Conservation area
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/554575_10150849404168655_511688654_9423764_2145892056_n.jpg

Crankin

05-20-2012, 09:42 AM

I rode to get my hair cut today. My stylist had to leave the country for a family emergency, so they got me in with someone else today. I've ridden there before, but I had a kind of strange reaction from a couple of the other clients and the woman who cut my hair...
It's only about 8 miles, but I have to climb a good hill about 4 miles into the ride and it is hot and a bit humid, as well. I was quite sweaty when I arrived and I sat down next to some other woman who looked horrified that a sweaty woman was sitting next to her. Then the stylist asked me about my riding and launched into a diatribe about how dangerous it was, how she rides opposite the traffic, so she can see what to do, and how she almost got killed on the Minuteman Rail Trail, by people going too fast. I tried to be nice, but it really got to me. Thankfully, she cut my hair quickly and I was on my way home. I decided to take the shortest route possible, as when I was riding there, I saw there was a charity ride going in the opposite direction and usually, when I take the longer way home, it takes me through Concord center, where they were heading. I didn't want to mess with that. I did see my cycling friend (in her car), who stopped to talk to me, as I was starting a little climb over the highway that's generally annoying!
I rode about 90 miles in 3 days, which is a lot for me.

Catrin

05-20-2012, 10:22 AM

Awesome pictures Reesha!

I wanted to mtb this afternoon, but my quads are a little toasty (not bad) so they get to rest today. Couldn't figure out why...until I tottled over to ridewithgps.com and looked at my weekly totals:

First of all, in April I rode an entire 61 miles, while so far in May I've logged 166 miles and 79 of those have been since Monday. 50 miles between Friday and Saturday.

Knowing me it would have been more than that if I hadn't tweaked my sartorius the week before at the gym - so it is probably good that happened. I AM, however, a little proud of myself that I am actually taking a rest day and listening to my legs. It is also a little embarrassing that it's taken me this long - and that much pain - to learn my lesson :rolleyes: :o :eek: Moderation just doesn't come easily to me, but I have GOT to build my base properly this year - I can't afford more over-use injuries!

Owlie

05-20-2012, 01:27 PM

54 miles this morning--my longest ride yet. I was planning to get out at sunrise (6:15ish) but no, I got out 45 minutes later. I actually remembered to eat properly, so I'm not ravenous, but still hungry. My quads aren't complaining too much, so I guess I'm okay for right now.

azfiddle

05-20-2012, 02:19 PM

Way to go Owlie!

Yesterday did 42 with my group, a slow climb on the last 6 miles before the turnaround. My husband was pushing himself doing mini individual time trials , so I saw him sporadically and he tired himself out.

So I did 20 miles with some climbing up to Molino Basin on Mt Lemmon on my own.

shootingstar

05-20-2012, 02:34 PM

58 km. today with 2/3 trip was to and from a farmers' market, then unload stuff before continuing on to a different bike store where it was our lst visit there. Then to another grocery store before getting back home.

It started off at 10 degrees C climbed to 20 degrees C temperatures. Bright sunny with some cloud. Quiet here. Guess alot of folks went out to Banff, Rockies elsewhere. Perfect for cycling.

Grits

05-20-2012, 03:03 PM

My group decided to do our own metric century ride on Sat. One of our riders had done one on a Tour de Cure training ride the weekend before, and we were jealous. We had 8 riders, which is a lot for us, and took off on a new route to a little town called Spring Hope. It was a there and back ride of 32 miles each way.

The highlight was brunch at the Country Inn (food is very important to us!), a little restaurant with the most southern menu I have ever seen: fried chicken livers, gizzards, frog legs, barbeque, of course! They had normal stuff too, fortunately. They were also the most accommodating by letting us bring our bikes inside and giving us our own room in the back (maybe that was just to get us out of sight?!).

The only down side was this route had more loose dogs than I have ever seen. We had three separate incidents where they actually came out in the road after us- with owners right there twice. They did get the dogs back, but it would have been nice if they hadn't let the dogs chase us in the first place. Squirted gatorade and blasts of air horns worked to deter one dog, but two stayed in the road barking at us until the owners came and got them. I will not do this route again because of them.

It was very windy, but the temperature couldn't have been any better. The last 15 miles were rough. 64 miles was really longer than I was ready for, but we made it and have lots of riding stories to tell.

lovelygamer

05-20-2012, 04:04 PM

That is one cool bike mirror!!! I didn't ride much this weekend. Just 2.5 miles with my boyfriend. He just bought a bike last week and hasn't been out much so we just took a twirl or two around the block. You girls have really been doing some riding!

Catrin

05-20-2012, 04:44 PM

25 more miles this afternoon - as stoker on a tandem for the very first time :) TOMORROW will be a rest day :o This means I've ridden 105 miles since Monday - not my norm but I will take it!

Norse

05-21-2012, 07:06 AM

Neat pics Reesha! I did the Cannon Valley Trail on Saturday starting and ending from mom's house in Red Wing, which gave me 43 miles total. I don't ride trails much, but that one is my fave and I had to be in RW for family stuff. The trail follows along the Cannon River as it winds it's way to the Mississippi and is just gorgeous. I started early, because it was going to be stinky hot and windy, and avoided the worst of the heat and wind until later in the ride - once off the trail it was blowing so hard it almost knocked me over. :eek: And the heat.... well, it made that last steep climb up the bluff to mom's house a dizzying experience and I had to stop at the top and allow my heart to come back to normal.

Trek-chick

05-21-2012, 07:33 AM

DH and i did the Zoo-de Mack. 50 mile ride on Sat. We also rode quite a bit around Mackinac Island with the dogs in their trailers:D. they loved it and so did we!!!!

I did the Zoo-de-Mack with my clipless pedals. Yay!!! First time I really used them at all and I was scared:eek: but, it was all for nothing. they really are not that bad--I love them now! I forgot to take my camera or I would post some photos but, it was a great weekend.

tctrek

05-24-2012, 04:49 PM

I did my first triathlon on Sunday!! Iron Girl - Lake Lanier, GA.

Reesha

05-25-2012, 02:30 AM

Congrats TC!! What were the distances?

Catrin

05-25-2012, 04:26 PM

I never know which thread to put Friday rides, but since it was for fun decided to put it here :)

Last night I did a quite windy 26 mile ride on a tandem - and decided I like being stoker on a windy ride :) Tonight was a fun and easy 10 miles. Rode to a friends house and then just tootled around a park for an easy ride. Tomorrow morning will be a longer ride with friends but we are just going to play it by ear.

Crankin

05-26-2012, 03:57 AM

I was supposed to do a 30+ mile ride with Hirakukibou yesterday. As I was arriving home, she called and said rain was forecast for 2 PM and we were going to start at 1:30. It did look very threatening. So, we decided not to ride.
It never rained and I went out to lunch with DH, drank beer, bought some flowers for the yard, and went to the grocery store.
I had what I call one of my "regular people" days.

Kubla

05-26-2012, 09:30 AM

I didn't get off to the early start I'd hoped for, but managed a 13 mile ride in conjunction with yard sale-hopping a bicyclette. It was tempting to push past the 13-mile mark, as my goal is to get closer to the 30 mile point by the end of summer.

However, I am supposed to ride with a significantly-younger friend tomorrow and did not want to overdo it today. The weekend has barely begun...

Catrin

05-26-2012, 10:19 AM

Did 37 miles today with Winding Road and her SO, we took almost 3 hours for the ride. It was about having fun rather than going fast (which is a good thing for anyone riding with me as I am not very fast). We knew there was a heat warning starting at noon and assumed we would be back by then, but of course we weren't. It was a great ride though and I am glad we did it. My legs did fine, and while I did have a few issues with the heat as it was 20 degrees higher than the average for this time it the year, it was fun! Starving afterwards, but again, my legs feel great!

Crankin

05-26-2012, 11:18 AM

Did our almost 50 mile "Fruit farm" ride up to Hollis, NH. This is probably the earliest in the year we've done it. The farm wasn't even open yet, but they let us in to use the bathroom and fill our bottles. We start at a ball field in Boxborough, as it has a porta potty. This ride is beautiful, except for one part near the beginning, where there's a lot of traffic on RT 119 in Groton and a weird and dangerous left turn I despise. We ate lunch at the top of the hill at the farm, at their picnic tables, and headed back through Hollis, Nashua,NH, Dunstable, and Tyngsborough, MA, and then up through Lost Lake in Groton and back through Littleton.
Last year we changed the second half of the ride, so there's an additional steep climb after lunch. The road up to the farm is also a long, 6 part hill. I "chicked" another guy going up that. When I made a comment that the climb kinda sucked, he said "oh no, it doesn't" and started weaving all over the road to catch me. He couldn't, which made me feel a little bit good, except that I was riding the Guru, with super low gears (although I was not in the lowest or even second lowest).
We got lucky that it stayed cloudy, as it's hot and humid.

Fredwina

05-26-2012, 01:04 PM

did about 50 today on the bent, Thought about going out with the local club , but decided not to.

goldfinch

05-26-2012, 01:28 PM

Did all of 10.45 miles today, down the dirt roads, stopping and looking at birds. It was kind of hard going because all the rain in the last week has made the roads a bit loose. But I saw a Merlin so I was happy. And the yellow warblers were singing and darting about.

ZenBiker

05-26-2012, 01:28 PM

I was looking forward to a couple long rides over the holiday weekend but have been thwarted by wind. It's averaging 27, gusting to between 40 and 60 mph, and is supposed to continue through tomorrow. Aside from the physical challenge that poses, there's a whole lot of dust blowing around. So instead I went to the local greenhouse to get the last few things for my garden - and they advised waiting til Monday to plant due to the wind.

Plan C is to get in some time on the elliptical machine at the gym, then read a good book.

Reesha

05-26-2012, 04:05 PM

55 miles this morning with one of my students. We planned on 60 to 70 but her knees were bugging her (she has some patella tendon issues). It's just so glorious to leave at 6 am sharp and to ride out and be back by 9 or 10. The whole day was before me!

I've got another 40 miles planned tomorrow before my 90 miler on Monday!

Crankin

05-27-2012, 09:12 AM

Even though it's a beautiful day, I planned a short recovery breakfast ride today, as I didn't want to overdo after yesterday's hilly almost 50 miler.
We did the loop around Hanscom AFB and Minuteman National Park. There were so many cyclists out (we left earlier than usual), it was almost annoying! Anyway, I went slowly in the beginning, pushed it during the middle, and after we stopped on the way back for breakfast, rode very moderately for the last 3.8 miles. 16.4 miles total.
We sat in the "bike alley" by Main St cafe and ate our breakfast burritos with the rest of the cyclists. I wanted to laugh as I listened to the conversation of the 2 gentlemen by us. They were at least 5-10 years older than me and were talking about Cross Fit and Insanity work outs, trying to "outdo" each other in terms of what they do. This was an interesting juxtaposition with the other middle aged tourist types who walked by us and were scowling and not so fit looking.

Catrin

05-27-2012, 09:29 AM

Sounds like you had fun Crankin! I am taking today off as a rest day...grumble mumble grumble. My legs feel fine - even after the very hot almost 40 miles yesterday (longest ride since injury recovery), but I've ridden the last three days in a row. Mountain biking & gym tomorrow so rest today...

goride

05-27-2012, 04:06 PM

Crankin - your "bike alley" story made me chuckle.

Our ride yesterday got cancelled due to rain, but 11 of us rode out at 6:00 a.m. today. Lots of riders were out early trying to get their rides in before the temps hit 90. It seems like our whole group spent most of yesterday pre-hydrating; we made more "pit stops" than usual. Rode through beautiful rural and lake country area. The corn is just starting to grow and only a few inches high, but it was nice to see something other than brown fields. Finished with 56 miles and the temps had only reached 77F. We were very thankful for that.

Another ride planned for tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. with a sub-group of the group that rode today. Hoping to get in another 50ish miles. Looks like we won't get the lucky break with the temps again tomorrow. It will already be 70 and humid when we start. A month ago I was complaining because it was only 42 degrees and I was tired of wearing tights, layers, and long fingered gloves, so I guess I shouldn't whine about the weather.

Took my primary bike to the LBS after today's ride because in the last 5 miles of the ride it sounded like I had a cage full of chipmunks living in the bottom bracket. They only had one mechanic on duty. He would have taken care of it after he finished the bike he was working on, but they have done me so many favors that I told him I would pick it up Tuesday (they are closed on Monday for the holiday). I will use my back-up bike tomorrow.

MojoGrrl

05-27-2012, 06:20 PM

Did the Indian Valley Century in Plumas county (Northern CA) yesterday. Last year I did the metric and got rained/sleeted on while the full century riders got snowed on. This year I did the century and when I got to the top of the climb (a loop around Antelope lake) it was really cold and windy with threatening clouds, so I started out for a couple of miles and then decided I didn't want to risk it and turned my bike around. As soon as I turned to head back - literally, as soon as I was pointed back in the direction of returning back down the mountain - it started hailing, so I got the hell out of there. Had to wait at the lunch stop 20 miles down the mountain to wait for my boyfriend and friends to meet back up, and we got a little rain on the way back, but I got 92 miles in anyway. Almost 500 miles on my new bike and I've only had it a month and a half!

Reesha

05-27-2012, 06:20 PM

50 miles today and afterward decided it was time to fix a number of ailments on my bike. Seriously mangled bar tape, loose/slipped cables, cleat position/hot foot problem. Hopefully now my 100 miler will be awesome tomorrow!

azfiddle

05-27-2012, 07:31 PM

68.5 miles today- my first ride since last Sunday- I was busy and it was incredibly windy all week. But school is out now and the wind brought a couple days of cooler weather, so we took advantage of it. Most of the summer here it's too hot to ride more than 2-3 hours - too hot for me anyway.

It was also my last ride with Madei- I'm sending her off first thing Tuesday morning.

smittykitty

05-27-2012, 08:24 PM

Training ride for 5 of us members of the wedding party - our son, fiance, her dad, DH and I went 75 miles yesterday. Stopped for lunch at Frosty's Tav (oldest in WA state). Mostly flat, one big hill that I walked (haven't met a hill I can't walk yet), others all made it up cycling, oh well. This was everyone's longest ride to date.

DH and I went 47 flat miles today. 1/2 was on bike path. What a treat after open roads! The other 3 riders went 25 hilly miles.

Ran out of water yesterday, so off to REI sale before today's ride. Bought women's specific Camelbak bag, the Magic. Has a couple of small pockets for gear. My back (left kidney area) at bottom of bag started hurting at end of ride. Not sure how high/low on back it should be. Will adjust up/down on future rides.

We are all riding the two day Seattle to Portland 200 mile ride one week before wedding!!!! Yes, I know, CRAZY!

Signed, the weak link

Owlie

05-27-2012, 09:28 PM

27 miles. My first ride in a week. Sigh.

Sky King

05-28-2012, 07:03 AM

Got out on Sunday for one of my favorite spring routes. Stopped to check out the owls but looks like they didn't use the nest this year but we did see a badger! Several Sand Hill Cranes as well. Couldn't get over all the Tri-Bikes, I don't find their riders very friendly. One "smoked" past us without a hello so we picked up the pace and caught up with him, I know a little out of my style but I was with the DH. We said hello :) then dropped back to return to enjoying being out on the bikes. 35 miles. Today the Exergy tour goes right past the front door so will go cheer on the women.

ZenBiker

05-28-2012, 10:18 AM

The wind quit, the sun came out, and it was a perfect morning for a ride! Met up with a friend and did 36 fun miles. I have a 50 mile ride planned for next Saturday and am feeling much better about being ready for it now.

Catrin

05-28-2012, 01:29 PM

Short mountain bike ride this morning on a quite easy beginner trail - so easy that my attention started wondering. An hour was about all I could handle, I think that trail has served it's purpose for my going there - to help me regain confidence after my neck injury last fall. Time to move on to more challenging terrain :) I checked out a special Cross Fit workout at my gym this afternoon, so I certainly got my exercise between the riding and workout before the cookout.

murielalex

05-28-2012, 01:49 PM

Headed out to Shark Alley in the Everglades National Park. There is a 15-mile path there, and once outside of the heavily trafficked first mile (lots of tourists and folks on rented bikes, sans helmets, literally glaring at us when we wanted to pass, though we were as polite as possible when letting them know we were slowly coming through), it was a nice ride, though really windy the first half. Did the loop twice. Here's a little guy on the side of the path:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l17/vstanbury/1a55b393.jpg

The plan was to do three loops, but it was too hot, even with the wind.

Afterward, my friend and I indulged in a bad, but delicious food fest at Rok Burger in Ft. Lauderdale.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l17/vstanbury/af7d66ab.jpg

I'm tried, full, and happy.

goldfinch

05-28-2012, 02:50 PM

murielalex

05-28-2012, 03:05 PM

I actually thought of you when I was riding! There were so many birds I didn't know the names of, and I remembered reading that you liked birding. The vultures and hawks were the only ones I knew.

Reesha

05-28-2012, 05:15 PM

105 miles today! I took lots of pics with my crummy camera phone so I will do a report tomorrow :)

leah

05-28-2012, 07:07 PM

OMFG does that look good. And you earned it!! :D

Headed out to Shark Alley in the Everglades National Park. There is a 15-mile path there, and once outside of the heavily trafficked first mile (lots of tourists and folks on rented bikes, sans helmets, literally glaring at us when we wanted to pass, though we were as polite as possible when letting them know we were slowly coming through), it was a nice ride, though really windy the first half. Did the loop twice. Here's a little guy on the side of the path:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l17/vstanbury/1a55b393.jpg

The plan was to do three loops, but it was too hot, even with the wind.

Afterward, my friend and I indulged in a bad, but delicious food fest at Rok Burger in Ft. Lauderdale.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l17/vstanbury/af7d66ab.jpg

I'm tried, full, and happy.

leah

05-28-2012, 07:09 PM

Did my second-ever half century on Saturday - the day after my boyfriend broke up with me! My average was 15.8 mph, which for me is better than usual.

I guess rejection is a good additional fuel source. :(

lovelygamer

05-28-2012, 07:19 PM

We are novice riders, especially my boyfriend. His bike is two weeks old and he can only do a couple of small rides a week so this weekend I dragged him out to a wildlife refuge, like murielalex.

Biking at Blackwater Refuge (Cambridge, MD) was really beautiful. It's such a different experience than cycling around town all the time. I loved the birdwatching, wish I had taken binoculars with me. There were Baltimore Orioles, egrets, blue herons, and ospreys. We did the 7 mile main loop and it was easy and relaxing. I will definitely be going back.

P.S. Here is a picture from the ride, and also a turtle I saved on the way home.

Antaresia

05-28-2012, 10:35 PM

I went out for beer last weekend too. There and back was 64km of either constant rolling hills or downtown traffic. Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay is a long way to go for a pale ale.

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab17/Candoia/bike/photo-9.jpg

That's me & my bike, and my friend's bike. He took the photo when we had to walk through an off leash dog-park area, and we just got done biking over the Lions Gate bridge you see in the background.

lovelygamer, good job on saving the turtle! Reptiles are our friends :D

Reesha

05-28-2012, 11:06 PM

Aw I saved a turtle on Sunday! They are our friends!

Btw, I LOVE your tanktop. It is fantastic.

withm

05-29-2012, 06:51 AM

Biking at Blackwater Refuge (Cambridge, MD) was really beautiful. It's such a different experience than cycling around town all the time. I loved the birdwatching, wish I had taken binoculars with me. There were Baltimore Orioles, egrets, blue herons, and ospreys. We did the 7 mile main loop and it was easy and relaxing. I will definitely be going back.

I love riding at Blackwater and stopping along the way to watch the eagles, and other critters. As you become more experienced there's any number of rides you can do in that area - up to 60-100 mile loops depending on your preference. Of course if you stop a lot to birdwatch, those long rides can take all day!

7rider

05-29-2012, 07:02 AM

I love riding at Blackwater and stopping along the way to watch the eagles, and other critters. As you become more experienced there's any number of rides you can do in that area - up to 60-100 mile loops depending on your preference. Of course if you stop a lot to birdwatch, those long rides can take all day!

The next two weekends will have lots of racing around Blackwater - so be careful if you are out for a casual jaunt.
On the 3rd is the Blackwater Duathlon (http://www.tricolumbia.org/events/?eid=13) - mostly contained to Egypt Road and Maple Dam Road (blech, boring out-and-back routes when there is SO much good riding to be had out there).
On June 10th is the Eagleman Triathlon (http://www.tricolumbia.org/events/?eid=2).
These events will put lots of bike, running, and possibly detoured motor traffic in the area.

Norse

05-29-2012, 07:05 AM

It was the weekend for turtles! I saved one yesterday at the tail end of my 21 mile recovery ride! I watched in horror as a truck nearly ran him/her over about 5' from reaching her goal of crossing the street. I went over and put her in the grass. We have several ponds in our neighborhood and someone has put up "Caution - Turtle Crossing" signs by each one. :)

Sunday was hot (90) and humid (dew point in the 70s). I led a small group of friends on a 51 mile training ride - we are preparing to do the MN AIDS ride known as the Red Ribbon Ride. It's the Ride's 10-year anniversary and my 5th straight year. We started at 8:30 am but still found ourselves quite wiped by the end. The ride featured lots of rolling hills with few small climbs thrown in. My gatorade was gone and I had downed 3 bottles of water.

Saturday was actually cool and rainy - how quickly the weather changes here - so I stayed inside with the Evil Coach Troy for the Hillacious work-out. The Red Ribbon Ride is filled with lots of rollers, several steeper climbs and one Day of Hills from Hell featuring southern MN's bluff country - the same bluffs that Greg Lemond trained on back when he prepared for the Le Tour. :eek:

redrhodie

05-29-2012, 07:34 AM

I commuted fri, and was planning on doing the lbs ride sat, but they posted a hilly route, and I wasn't up for it. So, I commuted again, but a longer route which took me by the group ride going the other way. It was fun to hear a bunch of them yell my name as I passed. At least I got to see my friends.

Even though it's not the weekend anymore, I did a hilly ride today to make up for being a wimp on sat.

Reesha

05-29-2012, 07:41 AM

Yesterday I managed 105 miles and I couldn't be prouder of myself for doing it all alone and fueling well. So well that I feel really good today aside from some unhappy chafing in those last 20 miles or so. I moved my cleats back a full cm to solve my hot foot issue and helped a lot though hot foot set in by mile 75 in my right foot. Hrmmm. Maybe need some special insoles?

I rode north from my house in St. Louis City along the Mississippi to Alton, Illinois starting at 5:30 am. Sunrise was spectacular as I descended down to the Missus and rode past the Arch:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/536057_10150870210493655_511688654_9485314_1479464305_n.jpg
The riverfront trail was quiet naturally and I stopped to take a picture of my favorite thistle flowers along the way:
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/562571_10150870210673655_1573444885_n.jpg

This first northbound stretch was lovely, but I really wish I'd had the benefit of a tailwind. The winds hadn't picked up yet but were going to be Southerly for the day.
I did get some experience riding on the highway... not an interstate but Route 67, pretty much the only way across the rivers up there. Spent a lot of time dodging glass, tire shreds, and frog roadkill. No flats though... very pleased! HWY 67 crosses both the Missouri and the Missus:
Missouri
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/556107_10150870210783655_831310191_n.jpg
Mississippi bridge into Alton:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/75285_10150870210938655_467824485_n.jpg

After that I rode south along the Mississippi and cut over to Edwardsville, IL and did a big circuitous route that took me through Maryville, Glen Carbon, and Collinsville. On the way from Collinsville to Granite City I passed Cahokia Mounds National Historic Site. Those are tiny people up top. Hard to believe people built these with buckets of dirt alone!
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/579381_10150870211053655_511688654_9485318_1866717931_n.jpg

After that I was just scrambling back north to the Chain of Rocks bridge so I could get back to St. Louis. By 10 am it was hotter than satan's underpants... with a hot 30 mph sustained South wind which made riding south and west awful. It was the kind of wind that was blowing up dust and sending trash skittering all around. I spent a lot of time riding about 10 mph into its face. But the tailwind north to the Chain of Rocks bridge was pretty great. Nothing like an effortless 25 mph on a flat.

By mile 80 or so the chafing set in. I rarely do rides longer than 80 miles and have never used chamois butter. Should have picked some up, but instead I applied Body Glide to my chamois. It was awesome feeling for the first 50 miles but really needed a reapplication. Lucky for me I have A+D ointment at home!

I stopped often, ate all kinds of random things and learned I could eat a half of a deep dish pizza w/ chicken, roast garlic, and roasted red peppers readily and not worry about the extra calories. They aren't extra anymore!

Best of all, I feel really good today. My knees are a little tired, but my muscles are ready for more. I should have reapplied sunblock as well. Ah well... this is the first of many centuries this summer and I learned a lot of valuable lessons yesterday!

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/150453_10150870211168655_511688654_9485319_1865262895_n.jpg

lovelygamer

05-29-2012, 09:00 AM

The next two weekends will have lots of racing around Blackwater - so be careful if you are out for a casual jaunt.
On the 3rd is the Blackwater Duathlon (http://www.tricolumbia.org/events/?eid=13) - mostly contained to Egypt Road and Maple Dam Road (blech, boring out-and-back routes when there is SO much good riding to be had out there).
On June 10th is the Eagleman Triathlon (http://www.tricolumbia.org/events/?eid=2).
These events will put lots of bike, running, and possibly detoured motor traffic in the area.

Thanks for the advice about upcoming events in the area. I can't wait to try some longer trails! Also, the visitors/education center there is so nice.:D

REESHA-those thistle flowers (and the picture composition) are awesome!