Say do you remember...cycling in September

[ny biker]

I can't believe it's September already. I want more summer :(

And I say that despite the brutal heat we endured on Saturday during the Civil War Century. My account of that ride is in this "hilly century" thread:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=54125

And a discussion of my unhappiness with my new wheels, which debuted at that ride, is here:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=54252

One thing I did not already mention was a mechanical problem that I had. There was a terrible rattling sound, which I thought was caused by the new wheels, and I also had a lot of trouble shifting. I thought that the derailleur needed an adjustment. There was a mechanic at one of the rest stops, so I brought the bike to him. He took the wheel off and determined that a spacer was missing from the cassette. He didn't have the right spacer to fix it, but was able to use a bracket spacer instead for a very good repair. I will need to have my LBS fix things with the correct spacer, but I was able to finish the ride without further shifting problems, and the rattling noise was gone.

The mechanic at the rest stop was Joe, from Joe's Bike Shop in Baltimore. He did a great job, and saved my ride.

As for the cause of the missing spacer, I think that was due to some miscommunication at my LBS that caused a delay in getting my bike back to me with the new wheels. It was definitely not the type of thing they typically do, and I'm confident they will take care of it.

Onward.

[Crankin]

I guess I posted all of my rides last week in the August thread. I had two good, but short rides this weekend, before my DH left for 2 weeks in China and Japan.

[Dragonfly5]

Saturday I rode 42 miles in the Maine Lighthouse Ride. It was my longest ride yet. The weather was quite humid but the ocean breeze helped. My friend was supposed to ride with me but we got all the way down there (we live about 45 min. away) and discovered she only had one shoe, Of course she rides with cleats and was wearing a flimsy shoe that wouldn't be comfortable for 40 miles so she had to go home. Fortunately, another friend was riding and I was able to ride with her. All in all it was a great day and I'm already toying with the idea of doing the metric century next year. :D

[smittykitty]

Great ride Sat. With DH. Temps in the Upper 80's. Rode 54 miles, a nice loop from home. Mostly quite country roads and a stretch on our wonderful, local paths. Lunch at our fav. Bike path dive!
One jerk honked and didn't move over, but the next driver stayed back all the way up the hill and wouldn't pass until he had a clear site line. He totally made up for the jerk (plus unknowingly put a little pressure on me to go faster!)
Embarrassed to say this was our second longest ride of the season! Gonna miss summer!

[Crankin]

DragonFly, I really want to do that Maine Lighthouse ride. One of my friends did it last year.
Next year, it will be on my list to do the metric.

[marni]

I envy you all in your cooler temperatures. Did a 40 mile ride 9/2 and then the same ride again yesterday. Both days were 85-92 during the ride with very high humidity. Makes one very grateful indeed for the 15 mph winds and an occasional puff of fair weather cloud for their minimal amounts of cooling. i'm waiting for the salty sweat rigns on the garage flour to start groeing alien moulds or something they are gettin that deep and that prolific.

[Crankin]

I had all intentions of going on a club ride up in Gloucester, MA. I was looking forward to riding by the ocean... I was so exhausted after yesterday at work, I slept until 7:30! That did not give me enough time to get ready and drive up there, unless I rushed, and it was cloudy/foggy. So, I enjoyed a lazy morning and went out at 10:30 for a little ride. I started with knee warmers and I had a long sleeved jersey on. At first, I was cold, then the sun started coming out. Then, I noticed big, black ugly looking clouds. I altered my route so I could escape home, and ended up going through some neighborhoods where I used to ride with my client. After climbing a nice hill, I was hotter than hell, and it was apparent it was not going to rain, so I took the knee warmers off and got back on my intended route. I ended up doing 17.5 miles, which was more than the loop I had planned. Legs still felt dead and I wondered if my brakes were rubbing, but they weren't! I need to get used to boot camp again...

[ny biker]

I rode almost 20 miles tonight after work. Probably my last night ride of the year in a sleeveless jersey, definitely my last one without the reflective vest. It was uneventful and pleasant.

[khg]

I just got back from cycling the Italian Alps and Dolomites with Cinghiale Tours www.cinghiale.com

When I'm feeling a little less flattened from jet lag and re-entry into real life, I intend to do a write-up and post some photos. But the TLDR version of what will surely be a way too long write-up is it was amazing, and I'd turn around and go back there to do it again right this minute if I could!

Edit: I posted a quick trip summary, with a couple photos. I will probably get really verbose in the next few days... http://mebikedolomitesoneday.wordpress.com/2014/09/11/biking-the-italian-alps-and-dolomites-tldr-version/

[MarieV]

khg, that sounds amazing! I can't wait for your longer trip/ride report and more photos.

[AppleTree]

khg, amazing ride report! Italy! Dolomites! Andy Hampsten!!

I have to say I'm exhausted just reading about all the climbing though, whew wee. Congrats on a terrific adventure.

[emily_in_nc]

Been riding a lot but not posting much. On Wednesday we went up to Clarkston, WA and did the Clarkston and Lewiston (ID) trails. Very pretty and scenic ride on a very windy day. Just put up a blog post on it if anyone is interested:

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/traveling-twosome-blog/riding-the-lewiston-clarkston-trails-in-the-lewis-clark-valley

[khg]

I gotta hand it to Emily--I'll take hills over wind any day. The only hill that I walked part of in Italy was going up Passo Fedaia on a super windy day. After a couple gusts that blew me crosswise across the road, I was more than a little freaked out, and walked much of the rest of the climb.

I've had my eye on this Italy trip for a while, but a couple years ago it was with the thought "that's amazing, but I'd never be able to do that..." So it was really special to do the trip, above and beyond how great the trip was in itself.

[Crankin]

I went on a small group ride today, with a leader who is known in our leader circles as rather strange. He promotes his rides incessantly, by Google groups, not just the regular place where we post our rides on the AMC site. I've heard that he's kinda angry and that once, on an after work ride my friend was leading, he was punched by a rider in another club, because this guy was in the middle of the road and no one could get by.
Not to digress, but the ride was weird. It was advertised at a moderate pace, and it was going into a hilly area, so I said, sure. Found the group at the meeting place, which was not clearly described (lots of parking lots on this road), interspersed with the high school x country skiers getting ready to do dry land training on Oak Hill. Without going into boring details, the guy had sent links for 40, 50, 60 miles, so I downloaded the 60. At one point he told us to go ahead, he was staying with a slower woman... of course, he had no sweep, and no safety talk, either, totally against our rules. My GPS went off to turn, but the 4 guys I was riding with went straight, since he told us to wait at the stop sign. We did, and then he arrived, he says, "We're lost." How can you be lost with a GPS/cue sheet that you did? I was familiar with the area, not the road we were on. They wanted to ride to the NH border, it was getting dark and windy out and rain was predicted. We got back to a main road and I led them to a good restaurant. Oy. The other riders were very nice, but I felt like I was at the MIT Nerd bike club. Sorry, and no offense to any MIT grads here, but... they complained about riding on a busy road, but hell, I did not want to get rained on. We did about 5 miles after lunch on a bike trail, which I hate. Other than that, there were some cool roads, a fairy tale house in Shirley, MA, where there's book characters on the roof, and only moderate climbing for this area. I ended up doing 41 miles, so I am happy, but I am going to talk to the bike committee about the lack of following our rules.

[emily_in_nc]

I gotta hand it to Emily--I'll take hills over wind any day. The only hill that I walked part of in Italy was going up Passo Fedaia on a super windy day. After a couple gusts that blew me crosswise across the road, I was more than a little freaked out, and walked much of the rest of the climb.

I've had my eye on this Italy trip for a while, but a couple years ago it was with the thought "that's amazing, but I'd never be able to do that..." So it was really special to do the trip, above and beyond how great the trip was in itself.

Thanks, but the hills you climbed were massive, khg! I can't imagine doing rides with the amount of elevation gain you posted on your blog above. Wow! I'm duly impressed. But yeah, I do hate wind (when riding) a LOT. :mad:

What gearing did you have to do those climbs? I just can't climb super steep hills on my Trek. I have a 30t granny in front, and my lowest in back is 25t. Pretty standard for a road bike but not low enough for me! My Bike Friday has mountain gearing, so I can do a lot bigger hills on that one, but it's heavier, so a bit of a trade-off.

[shootingstar]

I've been doing utility bike rides for last few days since returning home from vacation. After all, I need to fill a bare refrigerator and great excuse for farmers' market load-up on bike. Besides, our city had a freak snowfall 4 days ago and it became suddenly quite cold ..over a -25 degree C drop from summer shorts weather.

Prior I was cycling in Toronto daily for nearly 2 wks. All within town...the city has changed a lot: Waaaaay more cyclists compared to 12 yrs. ago when I relocated from the city. To a point where, it truly is now difficult to find a bike rack downtown during the day, that doesn't already have another bike or 2 locked up already. I seriously walked over 1 block in the financial/glitzy shopping downtown area before I could find a bike rack clear enough to lock up mine.

I rode around marvelling over the city's green tree canopy in the downtown core, in its park system, and on residential streets...how I'm so starved for trees after living in prairie city.

[Crankin]

Emily, I think you might find that a 25 on the rear is not so standard anymore. I've gone from a 25 to 27, then a 28 on my triple. My other bike has a compact, with a 34 small ring and an 11-34 on the back. It's a mountain rear derailleur, but it's already 3 years old and there's newer technology. My friend just got a Trek Project One bike with a road derailleur and a compact set up that has a 32 on the back. As we all age, there's just a bigger demand for these types of set ups.

[khg]

Thanks, but the hills you climbed were massive, khg! I can't imagine doing rides with the amount of elevation gain you posted on your blog above. Wow! I'm duly impressed. But yeah, I do hate wind (when riding) a LOT. :mad:

What gearing did you have to do those climbs? I just can't climb super steep hills on my Trek. I have a 30t granny in front, and my lowest in back is 25t. Pretty standard for a road bike but not low enough for me! My Bike Friday has mountain gearing, so I can do a lot bigger hills on that one, but it's heavier, so a bit of a trade-off.

I have a compact (50-34) in front, and had a 29 for my lowest in back. I rode all summer with a 27 as the lowest in back, and then swapped out cassettes a couple days before we left. It was great to gain the 29, though there were definitely times that I was trying the gear lever to see if maybe I had one more gear to shift into... (And then a few minutes later, trying again--"maybe now there's an extra gear!")

Since I still haven't reassembled my bike from the trip, I hopped on my single speed to commute yesterday, for my first ride since getting home. I've got a cold, and can't really breathe great, but it still felt really nice to be out on a bike again!

[Crankin]

So, today, I did the same ride to Bolton Farms with my friends, that I did right before I went to California a month ago. I did not bring my bike with the super low gears, because I am trying to ride only the bike with similar gearing to what I will have in Portugal. I was fine last month and was dying today. My average was 1.5 mph slower today. My knee hurt, my back hurt, and I just felt slow, like I just couldn't find the right gear. I even stopped once to see if my brake was rubbing! But, it was clear and sunny, and a bit windy. Same temperature as yesterday, and I did dress the same even though yesterday was cloudy, but I took my arm warmers off at one point today. The sun didn't make that much of a difference; it was 65 and it felt like 55, like October. A bit worried that I felt so off today, after 2 40 mile rides in a row. I am going to have to ride 7 days in a row in Portugal, one rest day, then one more day. There's one day (day 5) with a longer and steep climb and the rest just normal climbs. I probably will cut back all of my stuff the week before, so I have one more week of heavier riding to get through. Then, just little recovery rides.
Today was 39 miles with 2,445 feet of climbing.

[Helene2013]

Last Sunday I did a 60km ride which was my best ever ride. Got speed up to 35km/h (I still cannot keep it for long yet but at least I can do it). Long flat slopes are my problem and I know and will work on it with personal trainer when outdoor bike season is off.

Today did the same ride. 9c (brrrr), cloudy and very windy (but seen worst in a June ride but rode less then). We wanted to do a 100km but conditions were not so great.

But I rode in training. Hubby coached me. I did intervals and sprints. My weakness remains hills and I'm working and improving a lot. But still a lot of work to be done. Not out of the woods.

But the best improvements I have seen since I got my Amira is that I can drink while riding, I can scratch my back, I can unzip my coat and I can go over 30km/h for short stretches. My average on normal road (flats) is bout 25-26km/h. Better than the 18km/h of last year same time. All things I would never been able to achieve with my Kuota. I truly found the bike that suits me. I'm proud of my season so far, even if I cannot go out but for weekends. Not time or other obligations weekdays in the summer.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for the feedback on gearing, Crankin and khg. I used to have a road bike with a compact set up -- 34 in front and the lowest cog in back was 29t. Another difference was that the wheels were 650c, making the lowest gear even lower. I could get up anything with that bike, at least then (pre-accident in 2005). I keep thinking about changing for a 12-27t cassette in back, which is about the biggest I could use without a change in derailleur, I believe. Even that one extra gear would help, I think. I'm definitely not as young as I used to be!

Sorry you had a dud ride, Crankin. I've had a few of those lately, where I just felt weak and off, and I really do think in my case it is from riding day after day longish rides (40+ miles) with very little recovery time. My DH can do it (with even longer rides), but I don't do so well. Saturday we just did our normal market utility ride (just over 10 miles), and as a result, I felt MUCH better today, noticeably better, and was faster as well. Finished strong also, and we did a metric century. It helped that we had a tailwind for most of the second half of the ride, but even before that, I just felt better on the bike than I have for awhile. Rest definitely helps. If I ride more than 3-4 days in a row without a day off or a very light day, it really starts affecting my performance and thus, my attitude.

Hope you won't have problems on your tour, Crankin. When we toured upstate NY in 2004 fully loaded, we did nine days straight w/o a rest day, averaging 62 miles a day. I kept getting weaker each day and DH had to carry more and more of my stuff. We finally realized that we should have built in a rest day half way through at a minimum.

[ny biker]

So, today, I did the same ride to Bolton Farms with my friends, that I did right before I went to California a month ago. I did not bring my bike with the super low gears, because I am trying to ride only the bike with similar gearing to what I will have in Portugal. I was fine last month and was dying today. My average was 1.5 mph slower today. My knee hurt, my back hurt, and I just felt slow, like I just couldn't find the right gear. I even stopped once to see if my brake was rubbing! But, it was clear and sunny, and a bit windy. Same temperature as yesterday, and I did dress the same even though yesterday was cloudy, but I took my arm warmers off at one point today. The sun didn't make that much of a difference; it was 65 and it felt like 55, like October. A bit worried that I felt so off today, after 2 40 mile rides in a row. I am going to have to ride 7 days in a row in Portugal, one rest day, then one more day. There's one day (day 5) with a longer and steep climb and the rest just normal climbs. I probably will cut back all of my stuff the week before, so I have one more week of heavier riding to get through. Then, just little recovery rides.
Today was 39 miles with 2,445 feet of climbing.

Fwiw, it's harder to ride in colder air. Georgena Terry explains. http://www.womenscycling.ca/blog/georgena-terry/cycling-wind/

[Owlie]

Thanks, but the hills you climbed were massive, khg! I can't imagine doing rides with the amount of elevation gain you posted on your blog above. Wow! I'm duly impressed. But yeah, I do hate wind (when riding) a LOT. :mad:

What gearing did you have to do those climbs? I just can't climb super steep hills on my Trek. I have a 30t granny in front, and my lowest in back is 25t. Pretty standard for a road bike but not low enough for me! My Bike Friday has mountain gearing, so I can do a lot bigger hills on that one, but it's heavier, so a bit of a trade-off.

Do you have a triple? I can't remember. I think the industry has gone from a 25-tooth large cog to a 28, especially with the rise of the compact double. My road bike (triple, 8-speed) has a 26-tooth cog; cross bike (which is really more like a road bike, in the back) is 28.

[Crankin]

I know it's harder to ride in the cold, but yesterday was not really *cold.* However, it was kind of a quick switch, from summer to fall; the temperature is about 10-15 degrees below normal. I always give myself permission to ride more slowly once October comes.
Emily, thankfully, this is a supported tour. My concern is with slightly less lower gears I am going to be more tired to begin with. I am sitting here debating whether to ride to work. I already went to boot camp. Tomorrow is going to rain, so I can't commute and I need a rest day. I have a 40 mile ride Wednesday, Thursday boot camp. I need to be at work early Friday, so I may just do a little ride in the afternoon. Trying to reach 2K miles... I should have been there 2 weeks ago. Grrr.

[MarieV]

On Saturday DH and I did the New Snoqualmie River Run (68.5 miles) (http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2263777). It was a nice easy ride through a lot of farmland with only a few busy roads and highways. The climb up Duthie Hill Road near the end was not fun, especially since it was getting too hot, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

http://www.drmariev.com/Cycling2014/NewSnoqualmieRiverRun100Ksmall.jpg

On Sunday a friend and I did the all-women Cycle the Wave (http://thewavefoundation.org/cycle-the-wave/) (Middle Sister 45 mile (http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5965997)) ride. What a great ride and atmosphere! Cheerleaders and volunteers cheering everyone on at the start and finish, at the food stops, and even some intersections. There were even firefighters handing out Hot Tamales at the Tibbets Valley Park food stop. The extra climb up the Newcastle Loop was totally worth it for the rollers and long descents down Lake Washington Blvd SE. So much fun!

http://www.drmariev.com/Cycling2014/CycletheWAVE-firefighters-small.jpg

[salsabike]

Marie, you just did two of my favorite rides! We've done the New Snoqualmie River Run a bunch of times due to my addiction to seeing horses, especially foals. And I also did the Cycle the Wave Middle Sister yesterday--I've done that ride every year since it started. The firefighters handing out boxes of Hot Tamales are a hoot.


Here are two more pictures from the New Snoqualmie 100k (May 2013, with new filly, and May 2014, the filly one year later)--

1737917381

[rebeccaC]

taking a few days to relax in the napa valley...been riding on silverado rd and side rd's off of it from yountville to calistoga. beautiful views and great weather......

http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-snc2S5G/0/XL/i-snc2S5G-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-NVTb3vX/0/XL/i-NVTb3vX-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-4J4FgZ6/0/XL/i-4J4FgZ6-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-X6vrxQR/0/XL/i-X6vrxQR-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-cfvBK8S/0/XL/i-cfvBK8S-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-vD2Jq5t/0/XL/i-vD2Jq5t-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-tKwZsMB/0/XL/i-tKwZsMB-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-hJxZX4T/0/XL/i-hJxZX4T-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-DdKtxJ9/0/XL/i-DdKtxJ9-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-9FKJM69/0/XL/i-9FKJM69-XL.jpg

[MarieV]

OMG, Rebecca, your photos are so beautiful! The light makes the colors so vibrant, they look surreal. I always think we're so spoiled with our scenery in the PNW, but the Napa Valley really is gorgeous.

Deena (salsabike), I actually thought about PMing you to see if you were doing the Cycle the WAVE ride, so we could actually meet. Darn! I thought the New Snoqualmie River Run was nice and easy with some beautiful views of farmlands and ranches, but I definitely liked the scenery, rolling hills, and mostly quiet roads on the Maltby-Granite Falls ride better.

[rebeccaC]

thanks marie....i think both here and the pnw have some beautiful scenery....

some more :)

http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-NHZFw3n/0/XL/i-NHZFw3n-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-Rsksg2p/0/XL/i-Rsksg2p-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-9dmCrqZ/0/XL/i-9dmCrqZ-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-Bs7B5PT/0/XL/i-Bs7B5PT-XL.jpg


https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5564/15072512300_01ec5c4e35_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oXUyMJ)


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-RC8TcJN/0/XL/i-RC8TcJN-XL.jpg


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-jrZDBXQ/0/XL/i-jrZDBXQ-XL.jpg


https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/15076271117_c6d14f444f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oYeQ9V)


http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/photos/i-cpCNM5P/0/XL/i-cpCNM5P-XL.jpg

[khg]

wow Rebecca! Thanks so much for sharing those photos! Keep them coming if you have more!

[rebeccaC]

thanks khg, today is about wine so no more riding :).....heading south to carmel later today and a day in big sur tomorrow.

[Crankin]

Did my club ride today; the same 40 mile route as I did on Labor Day, but, it's much cooler and drier out (yay!).
So, the spirit of our Wednesday group seems to be changing. Older members are slowing down (I mean 75+) and want slower, shorter rides. We have a pretty big group of people who like the moderately paced (15-17 on the flats, slowing on hills), but those rides seem to be the shorter ones... the faster guys, and it's mostly, but not all guys, do longer routes, but they are quite speedy, probably averaging around 17-19. So, today, the longer ride was led by my friend, Jack, who clearly stated it would be at the regular pace. We did not start out slowly, and didn't stop at all until after we had climbed the 3 mile hill in Littleton. I told the sweep I was going to go very slowly, but in fact, I was not the last one up. When we got to the top, we stopped at an orchard and I heard the sweep and another guy grumbling about the pace, so I said something to Jack. He invited a group to go ahead and do a breakaway... thankfully, 4-6 did and Jack slowed down after I told him to! I mean my average was over 15 after 24 miles and the climb, and I knew I couldn't keep it up for 16 more miles, on rollers. So, I did enjoy the second half, after very nearly turning back before we climbed the hill.
Had pizza and beer, back at Jack's house to celebrate the "second 75th birthday," of the guy Jack and I have been pacing for the last few Wednesdays...

[ny biker]

I did my usual Wednesday night ride tonight, even managed to start a bit earlier than usual. I left the really bright headlight home -- I blame my job, too many meetings this morning distracted me when I was getting everything ready before leaving for work. I had a couple of smaller lights to make me visible, but struggled to see in the dark in a few spots. Fortunately I know the route and the bumpy stretches of road well enough to be able to do the ride without any mishaps.

Things have been very bad at work this week, and I really needed the bike ride to clear my head. I can't wait for the weekend.

[rebeccaC]

as i wrote above no riding today but we made it to carmel for the sunset

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3901/15088083559_2765047be6_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oZhnzH)


https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5554/15088248988_7db7669168_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oZidKW)


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3926/15088230948_9b0d5848f2_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oZi8oU)

[salsabike]

rebeccaC, you are a great photographer!

[rebeccaC]

rebeccaC, you are a great photographer!

thanks...but it may be more about the lenses and camera *S*

going to ride to the carmel mission to photograph it tomorrow and then hopefully i can get some good photos in big sur on our way south

eta...Rather than post again I’ll just add todays here

Carmel’s….Mission San Carlos Borromeo del rio Camelo

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5559/15284420155_22a6e0fe79_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/phCDBr)


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3890/15281254251_ec372f9d37_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/phmquT)


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3874/15097719218_07bffa36fa_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/p18KVL)


Big Sur

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2941/15097672168_a2081be8bb_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/p18vWy)


https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/15283746342_df2882501f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/phzciY)

Pfeiffer Beach

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2941/15097220437_9b6229cfbc_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/p16cE6)


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3880/15097173658_f1ba88aaf2_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/p15XKy)


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3836/15283659972_107227d28f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/phyKCQ)


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3852/15097137697_8d15dca6f9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/p15M4x)


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3837/15283198632_14999bf22d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/phwouG)

[salsabike]

I know--those help. But still!

Any chance of seeing your Norway tour pictures sometime?

[rebeccaC]

Any chance of seeing your Norway tour pictures sometime?

I wish i could....i lost the sdhc cards that had the photos before i got back to my computer and the luggage I left at the hotel in oslo. I did post a couple cell phone ones in the july thread.

thinking it means I'll have to go back :)

[salsabike]

Oh--painful! But of course then you need to go back. :)


I wish i could....i lost the sdhc cards that had the photos before i got back to my computer and the luggage I left at the hotel in oslo. I did post a couple cell phone ones in the july thread.

thinking it means I'll have to go back :)

[Dragonfly5]

Your pictures are beautiful RebeccaC!

Only 13.5 miles today but it was a little more hilly than the ride I usually do so I guess it evens out. 50, cloudy and breezy but that first two miles of gradual uphill got the blood pumping :)

[Crankin]

I was the sweep for a club ride today, last minute. My friend, who we often lead with, posted an impromptu redux of the bike rally route for this morning on Wednesday. I took a rest day yesterday, felt a little off, but seemed OK last night. Then, when I woke up, I felt like I had been hit by a truck! Oh, oh... I couldn't cancel, so I went back to sleep for awhile, since the ride starts in Concord, but that kind of made it worse. So, I had some tea, took 3 Pepto tabs, and rinsed my nose. It was about 35 when I got up, but it was predicted to rise rapidly, and it did. In fact, I was a bit warm on the ride, but taking my arm warmers off, did the trick enough to make up for having my vest on.
This is a really pretty ride that I planned with DH; the group was nice, and I am really glad I was sweeping, because I could not have kept up with the rest! There were 2-4 slower people, and they didn't start annoying me until about 5 miles from the finish, when I usually book it, and they got super slow. No incidents, and pretty good riding behavior. The only down side was it's apple picking season and one of the prettiest roads on the ride was just filled with cars going to Honey Pot Hill Orchard. I know this is a big deal to people from the city, but it gets really annoying to have these roads clogged at my favorite time of year. Thankfully, the hill is after the orchard.
The group stayed to eat lunch at Verrill Farm, where we started, but I headed home, since DH had just arrived home from a 2 week trip to Japan and China.
29 miles with about 1800 feet of climbing.

[shootingstar]

We had a damaging snow dump last week, which damaged 2,000 trees across the city.
Snow melted..but now with combination of rising temperatures, the trees are turning brilliant yellow too fast, already! So my bike ride started to feel awfully nostalgic today.

[rebeccaC]

Thanks Dragonfly5 !!

Perfect day of riding for me after being gone for a week… I rode into the Santa Monica mountains for a 71 mile ride. For the climb off Pacific Coast Highway into the mountains I did Las Flores canyon road which begins with a 4.6 mile 2200 ft of elevation climb where once the grade eases back down to 8% from 13% I feel I’ve come onto a flat section. 30 miles and three more good hard 1.5 to 3 mile 10-11% climbs and it was then Encinal canyon road, which is one of the easier climbs into the mountains, and a pleasant descent back to PCH. Mid 70’s and ocean air conditioning for a lot of the miles. Since I just took my second weeks vacation this year I’ll probably be working too much to ride, other than commuting and shopping, for the next two weeks. That’s one of the reasons I wanted a good ride this weekend. Tomorrow it’s just a ride to the farmers market in the morning, some errands and to a lunch with some friends 9 miles south on the beach bike path.

[Irulan]

One of three creek crossings.
This was a real backcountry adventure. I've done this ride before, Long Canyon. 19 miles over all, 2K of climbing, 6K descend. The numbers are misleading. It's not a 6K flow descent; it is 17 miles of rolling technical trail through old growth. The forest management designation of this area is changing in 2015 - it will be managed as "Wilderness" even tho it is not a Wilderness Area, and it will be closed to bikes. Last year it took us 8 hours; this year 7.25. Whew.

17395

[Raindrop]

It's been great, but warm riding weather. Unfortunately, I got a flat on my front tire on Friday, then today, just after the ten miles I rode to get to a multi use trail...and actually thinking to myself, "Well, at least I don't have to worry about glass and crap on this leg of ride", I flatted on my back tire. So...when I got home I figured I must have about 2,000 miles on my tires so I ordered some new tires and this time so puncture resistant tubes which I've never used before. Anyone have any experience with them? Are they any harder to change than regular tubes?

[ny biker]

Wednesday night...rain. Thursday... rain forecast to end in the afternoon but it kept raining into the evening. Yes I can ride in the rain but I really don't enjoy it, especially when it's dark and cool at the same time.

Friday night...clear skies, no wind, temps around 70 dropping to the low 60s. So I went for a very nice bike ride. 17 miles.

Sunset was just before 7 pm. (Our next post-7pm sunset will be on March 8. I have noted this in my calendar.) I was having an easy day at work and thought I'd be able to leave a bit early, but I made the mistake of exchanging pleasantries with someone as I was leaving the restroom and learned the hard way that this woman really likes to talk. It took me 20 minutes to extricate myself from a conversation about cold offices. For some reason I now know that this woman has to leave the drawers of her dresser open otherwise her clothes smell bad. Anyway that was 20 minutes of lost daylight for my bike ride.

Another lesson learned the hard way -- soccer season has started and the soccer parents in this town are clueless and self-absorbed. I was thinking of moving the ride start, and now I think I have to do that to avoid either being run over by their SUVs or crashing into them when they look straight at me coming towards them down a big hill and then step into the street in directly front of me.

[Crankin]

We led/swept our annual ride in Tiverton/Little Compton, RI/Westport, MA. It was 81 degrees today! Some years it's been 48.
DH agreed to sweep, which left me with the middle of the pack. Poor DH was stuck with a group of women, who weren't just slow, that would be OK, but treating the ride as a tour, not a group ride. A couple peeled off before lunch, to looky-loo, and after lunch, the whole group of them went off alone. Why even sign up? Well, I think they wanted to go to the after ride dinner at a lobster shack. So, I stayed in the back with DH after lunch, for awhile, until he left me, then we regrouped and the leader told us to go ahead with a few people while he waited for some to use the bathroom. We had just regrouped again, after the top of a hill, when a guy got a flat. Since the leader was now at the back, we went ahead, and DH went back at one point, to ask some of the riders if the leader had stopped to help the guy. He had, so we continued on, in the lead. We really picked up the pace, since we have plans to go out tonight , for DH's birthday. The last road on this ride is a slight uphill, and I always feel it. However, we did really well, and the whole ride felt like it went faster than usual.
The 3 of us decided that next year, we will not advertise this ride on the club's web site, and Lamar will just call the people who want to ride in a beautiful location, but are all about the same speed. We have had 2 groups in past years, but this year we limited it to 22 people, but Lamar gave in and let those women sign up, despite knowing they did not fit in with the rest. He has a "following" of ladies, always does a dinner afterwards, etc., where I just want to go home after a hot and sweaty ride. It takes an hour and 20 minutes to get there, so I am glad I am home and ready to EAT!
40 miles, flat and some small hills in the second half.

[Crankin]

Today was one of my worst riding experiences, ever! But, even worse for DH. We volunteered to lead a ride that was done in conjunction with our synagogue and 2 other local congregations in other towns. We worked with with the guy spearheading the thing, in helping him with things like liability, etc. I invited him to come on a ride that I swept last wk. with another leader, so he would see our style. So, after leading yesterday, going out to dinner last night, we drove over to our temple, which is in the next town at 8 AM. There were about 20-25 people for a 9 AM start. The purpose of this ride was to provide information about several organizations that work for peace in Israel; one, Seeds of Peace, is a well known group that works with teens from many warring countries, by sending them to camp together, in Maine. They do all kinds of other stuff, too. DH gave the safety talk, and we headed out.... cutting through the high school campus, where my kids went to school. As soon as we got out to the next street, I could not even see DH, maybe a couple of other riders way ahead, and 2-3 slower people in front of me. I was pissed.
One of these women, was wobbly, had poor road skills, and was scaring me to death. I won't go into details, but when we had to ride through Concord Center, she got on the sidewalk and started laughing, in the middle of tons of traffic, pedestrians, and other riders. I had her and another woman get behind me, and led them though the traffic... and got to the next congregation.
DH came running up to me and said, "I'm done!" Apparently, the riders went racing ahead of him, pushing the speed up to an average of 18-20, after we advertised the ride as 13-15 average. They basically told him they would do whatever they wanted, were very rude to him. Now, DH can ride this fast, but this was not the purpose. Plus, they all got lost, since they weren't following him, and half of them didn't even look at the cue sheet or have a GPS. We were about to ride back to Acton, when the guy who had set this up volunteered to take the "fast group," and several people were clamoring to go with us. It was fine after that, in terms of speed, and staying mostly together, except for one woman whose chain fell off twice, and the we got caught up in a group *motorcycle* ride, as we were approaching a left turn at a busy intersection. They were 3-5 abreast on a 2 lane road, wouldn't let us in, and made the left turn, on a red light, stopping the cross traffic. We had to work to quickly get in the next left turn lane and the wobbly woman was hugging the right side of the road, after the motorcycle people got through. Oy. I think I said the f word, not very leader like. When we got to the next synagogue, I was upset, hot (it was like 85 degrees today), and suffering with allergies mightily. I got some food, and it was fine after that, as we were heading back, and after another horrendous left turn in traffic (we did not plan the route), we were on quieter roads that I am familiar with. The wobbly woman made a few other egregious moves, but I tried to teach her how to shift,a fter she almost fell over on a hill.
We all came in together, and were thanked profusely, but I will not be volunteering to do this again.

[rebeccaC]

.....the reason i most often ride alone or with people i know

[Helene2013]

My best riding month so far as weather was generally cooler, but for this weekend which was pretty hot.

My rides are generally between 50-60km and on weekends only due to lack of time or obligations I have during week nights. This weekend we were camping and I did 2 rides of 50km but they were hilly and for today lots of winds. This bike is my best sport purchase ever. I love it a lot and becoming a better dare devil. Lol no fear...well with reasonable risks. If I could I would ride it more often but it is what it is for now. Better than a lot of people doing nothing.

[Crankin]

Rebecca, I hear you. The rides we usually lead are with a club that is very safety oriented and we have to screen the people for most of the rides, so we can turn people down. We also tend to get the same people on the same rides every year. We do lead 2 of the bigger club rides that are show and go, but we've learned to manage this. But, we only lead about 5 rides a year, sometimes help out as co-leaders with someone else. Other than that, I ride with my DH, or2-3 other friends, or alone.

[ny biker]

The wobbly woman was probably more scared than you were. Was it advertised as a beginner ride?

[Crankin]

No. This was a ride devised as a mini fund raiser/informational thing by a man at my temple. He is a good rider, but I don't think he had a clue about these types of things. We advertised the ride as an average of 13-15. Which is why the fast guys were totally out of line.
The wobbly girl was not scared. She thought it was "funny." There was a cultural thing going on, too. Not sure if she was Russian or Israeli, but she was young and had a decent bike, just hadn't ridden in awhile. Didn't know how to shift or where to put her hands. Thankfully, her friend was with her and helped her, too.

[khg]

We are having beautiful fall weather here--and I've been completely buried in work :(

But I did take advantage of my commute on Saturday--I got up 30 minutes early (=6AM--this is a big deal for me on a Saturday morning...) and tripled the length of my ride to work--then on the way home I took a 25 mile detour, riding to and around Mercer Island. It was gorgeous--even more so than in the summer, I think. Some trees are starting to turn, and their color is highlighted even more by the deep green background of all the evergreen trees around here. Add in bright sun, and views of water and mountains, and I'd be happy for my "commute" never to end :)