Ride Report

[cindysue]

What a beautiful day in Danville! The sun was shining, the ladies were chatting, and I got see my good friends Shannon and Frances (AKA Slinkedog & Helga). I also got to meet Becky - one of the newest Calif. TE posters.

We did a nice 15 mile loop through Danville and San Ramon to kick off the Cinderella Training Series. (http://www.lunachix.net/cinderella.htm) With 20+ women, you are bound to get a flat tire along the way, so we stopped, fixed it, and kept cruising. At the mid-way point, about 1/2 the riders trailed off to get in a few more miles and some hill climbing. The rest of us enjoyed the quiet and car free Iron Horse Trail as the temperature started to drop and remind us that it is indeed still winter here in California (OK - if you live in the east, go ahead and throw something at the monitor :p )

Then it was back to the bike shop where earlier this morning we had a bike basics clinic. I'll be posting information in a few weeks about our clinic on Feb 4th led by Dr. Jessica Greaux of Innersport Chiropractic.

Hope to see some of you next Saturday in Pleasanton.....

[SadieKate]

Somehow, this makes me believe Spring is coming.

[slinkedog]

Yes, we had a blast! Thanks so much to Cindy and The California Pedaler for putting this whole thing together. The bike clinic was great and the ride was really fun. I'm looking forward to more rides in this series. If you can make it, even if you're not doing the Cinderella, come join us for some of the rides. What a great bunch of ladies!!

Cindy, it was so great to see you again. Helga, nice to meet you and figure out who we were on the board and all that! Looking forward to riding with you again. Becky and I drove up together, got along great (read: we never shut up because we talked so much!) and found out we live very close, so we are planning on doing some riding together in the near future! What a great place TE is. I'm very thankful for the board and all the neat gals I've met here! Cheers!

[slinkedog]

A note to Sadie that's a little OT: Are you going to be going to any of these rides in the series or can we get together at some point? I'm liking my saddle better and better with each ride, so the Avocet is officially yours. Let me know what's up (we can PM or whatever) and I'll bring it to you. :)

[SadieKate]

Yes, but don't know which yet. I'm hoping to drag Marty down.

[helga]

Thanks Cindy! Great day of learning, peddling and meeting new people. Slinkedog, you never did tell me how you got your nom de bike group name. Next time! Look forward to seeing all of you again on the 14th.

[cindysue]

Yes, but don't know which yet. I'm hoping to drag Marty down.

the Benicia ride should be a lot of fun (and not too far for you to drive) - We'll be going to the Jelly Belly Factory!! This is a fairly flat ride for the newbies (just need to build up to 50 miles - you can do it!)

This is ride #7 in the series....

[cindysue]

thanks Shannon, Frances

Glad ya liked it :D

[BikeMomma]

Sounds like you gals had bunches of fun! I'm looking forward to joining you & meeting all the new faces on one or two of the later ones (I need more miles & some hills...unless someone is willing to branch off like this one??). 'Til then, happy & safe riding, All!
-BikeMomma

[slinkedog]

Hey BikeMomma! I hope to see you at one of the rides. Maybe you can come to the SouthBay one. It will have a few hills, I think. I'm not sure of the exact route but I think Cindy posted it somewhere and it will include one hill that I'm scared of, but probably won't be bad for you. If memory serves me correctly, it will be a 50 - 55 mile ride.

You can meet me at my house and we can go together, if you like.

[bikerz]

Hey Slinke - how's that saddle?

[BikeMomma]

Hey BikeMomma! I hope to see you at one of the rides. Maybe you can come to the SouthBay one. It will have a few hills, I think. I'm not sure of the exact route but I think Cindy posted it somewhere and it will include one hill that I'm scared of, but probably won't be bad for you. If memory serves me correctly, it will be a 50 - 55 mile ride.

You can meet me at my house and we can go together, if you like.
Awesome! That would be fun if it works out!

The rides I'm looking at are the 2/11, maybe the 2/18 (iffy since I'll need to be gearing up -- no pun intended -- for racing the next weekend), and the 3/18. Is the 2/11 ride in Walnut Creek the one you're referring to? It's 40 hilly miles and that looks pretty attractive to me, and the mileage and rolling terrain (is the 65mi option the Cinderella route?) is what I like about the 3/18 ride. I've been training in the hills of Mariposa lately and I need to keep the challenges going. I'm seeing lots of improvement in my hill climbing as a result. :)

[slinkedog]

Hey Bike Momma... it's the one on March 4th, I believe. There's a thread that has them all listed. Love to see you again!

BikerZ... I'm liking it more and more. The first ride I did was very short (like 5 miles as I had very limited time and just wanted to try it out). I was very happy with the cutout, but the back was bothering me. We did a short ride on Saturday (15 miles) and it was much better. I think I'm just going to have to get used to it. It is rather wide in the back and cuts in gradually, so my legs are rubbing against it. Like I said, it didn't bother me that much on Saturday. I'm hoping to do a little time in the trainer today and we'll see how that goes.

The cutout is fantastic, and that's always been my main problem... soft tissue pain. I have none so far with this saddle.

I have the women's specific model, so it is much wider in the back than the men's.

How is the Koobi working for you?

[bikerz]

Oh - the Koobi was a total dud - ouch ouch.

I am still using my Atola even though it is too narrow at the back because the cutout is so good. I bought another terry to try - the cutout seems wider than the first Butterfly I had, but still not as good as the Atola. I don't know... how many saddles will I need to buy? I like the look of your saddle - hopefully I'll see you at one of the next training rides and I can check it out "in person". Where did you end up getting it?

(Have I totally hijacked this thread? - sorry!)

[slinkedog]

Blaine got it for me for Christmas from an online retailer - Masherz.com... I think they sell through ebay. It was around $70 with shipping, so it's not horribly expensive.

Hope to see you soon! Are you going to any of the Cindy training rides for sure?

[SadieKate]

I'll take it back on topic. . . Cindy, I printed the schedule for Marty as I would like to get her down there for one. Her son's SO lives in Berkeley and rides so I think this would be a good plan. However, the schedule gives a rating system for terrain at the bottom of the page, but none of the rides use it. Am I just not seeing it? I have to know this info as Marty is just starting on hills and doesn't use cleats yet. This is a critical factor.

Matter of fact, which ride tis the flattest and the closest to us? I gotta get her and Candy's rears in gear.:rolleyes: Good news is that Candy has finally figured out the benefits of a light road bike over the sluggishness of a heavy hybrid.

Sadie "blind as a bat" Kate