May Rides

[Crankin]

I am assuming we still want a monthly ride thread, in addition to Murienn's random on/off topic riding thread.
We went to a leader's ride/party today. There were 2 rides, 26/14 miles. Now, AMC has lots of slow type rides led by some of the people on the ride. Unfortunately, there was no discussion of speed requirements for the 26 mile ride and I volunteered to sweep. After 2 minutes, a group broke off of the front. DH stayed with me, and then the fun began... there was a woman who was so slow I really was not sure if I could keep my commitment to sweep. She should have gone on the other ride. Now, I know speed and length of ride are not always connected, but, I truly forgot these were leaders I was on a ride with. Squirelly riding, not approaching turns assertively, etc. But, I was really nice and only once did I tell the woman (and a guy) I was going to pass them and wait at the top of a hill. Beautiful weather today, first ride in shorts and short sleeves.
After the ride, we had a happy hour and dinner, and then filled in our rides calendar. Upside is that DH and I are leading a few more than our usual 2... starting with a Thursday night series ride, the week after next.

[OakLeaf]

I got out for the club ride yesterday! It was the shortest, flattest loop they do, and farmers' market season hasn't started yet, so what the heck. I was still a little hesitant about going the whole distance (38 miles) and they laughed at me until I reminded them that I was 12 days out from a big PR marathon, I'd run two more miles than I'd wanted to on Friday (stupid Google), I'd ridden the road bike a total of four times all winter, and hadn't ridden more than 30 miles together in three years ...

It was a glorious spring day, not even any wind, and it felt really good to get out and to see my old riding buddies again. The route is a VERY gradual climb outbound with some steeper descents on the return, so I hung with the slowest riders and by the time I was getting tired, I got to coast for the better part of the last ten miles. Little bit of diffuse soreness today, but I don't think I did my recovery any harm.

Yay. :)

[Crankin]

That sounds like fun, Oak.
Just got back from 41.6 miles doing some of my favorite hills in Harvard, MA. I've been out on my bike for 6 weeks and have avoided these hills like the plague, but with my trip to Provence in 6 weeks, I gotta get my azz in gear. Was feeling very anxious about this, and it bugged me until we actually got done with the first climb (Westcott Rd.). My strategy was to maintain a steady slower speed and high cadence all the way up the hill, even when it flattened out. After that, the anxiety was gone, but there were more hills to climb! We ate lunch at the Harvard General Store, and after being 80 degrees and sunny when we arrived, the clouds came. I was thankful, because riding in hot weather, with no transition (it was 70, clear, cool-ish yesterday) gets to me. However, I knew rain was forecast for later in the afternoon, so we headed out, stiff and tired. The first thing was an annoying climb on a busy road, to get to a long downhill. When ever I do this, it reminds me of when your mom tells you not to go swimming after eating! My legs were dead. But, the downhill is nice, and after that, we rode through our old neighborhood, and saw people in our old house, sitting on "our" porch furniture. Creepy.
Anyway, made a couple of "rest" stops between there and home. Ended up with about 1,850 feet of climbing. Need to do a lot more before June 17.

[rebeccaC]

Rode into the Santa Monica mountains on a canyon road I’ve only used a couple of times cuz memories of it’s really long steep climb with no road shoulder a lot of the way immediately come to mind when I think about riding it again. 76 miles with temps in the high 60’s.....and a wonderful tail wind coming off the ocean helped push me home. :) I needed a good challenge and this ride gave it to me!

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[smittykitty]

23 on Sat. With a quick stop at DQ! 58 on Sunday. A few good hills, no pictures, sore butt, sore quads. Boy am I out of shape!
Good weather and enjoyed riding with DH as usual.

[Crankin]

Great ride today with a new group. See the off topic thread for details.

[Jolt]

Short 12-mile ride today with a couple of good climbs in the first half. Would have liked to do a longer ride but had limited time, and figured a short ride is better than none! I have a 4-day tour coming up in about a week so am working on getting ready for that, I've figured out pretty much how everything needs to be packed and maybe my next ride will be with the full load to make sure no tweaking is needed. I am still not entirely happy with the Selle An-Atomica and just ordered a Brooks Cambium C17 from wallbike.com...debating whether to put it on before the trip (and get a couple shorter rides in on it at least) or wait until after.

[Crankin]

Did an 8.6 mile recovery ride today. I felt incredibly good after my long ride yesterday, in terms of nothing is hurting. However, as soon as I got on the bike, I adjusted my plans. My quads were tight, and unfortunately, a short ride for me involves around 600 feet of climbing. But, I am glad I did it. It was about 84 when I went out, and it's so dry, I had the "oven" feeling, reminding me of AZ. Not sure about tomorrow; I definitely will go to boot camp, so I might bag commuting. I will be leading a 20 mile ride Saturday and plan a longer ride after Mother's Day breakfast.

[Crankin]

Our New Member's ride went extremely well. We changed the route to a different area, with less traffic and less cyclists. Only had one guy with a mechanical within the first 2 minutes. He was riding a borrowed bike and the derailleur snapped off. Back he went. About 5 women started with my group and quickly decided to stop and wait for the slower group. As the sweep, I gently help them make this decision. Then there was the guy who kept telling me he was out of shape, had cramps, but wouldn't listen to me try to help him climb better, by actually gearing down. When he fell back and I stayed with him he said, "You're still here???" Like he was mad a girl could go faster. I was so nice and really tried to help in a non-condescending way. Finally after 6 miles or so, I asked if he wanted to stop and wait for the other group and he said no, he would just ride on his own, for me to go ahead. Thing is, he came in after some of the riders in the second group. Oh well. We had lots of compliments on the route, great weather, and no real problems. Afterwards, about 10 of us went out for lunch.
A fun 20 miles.

[rebeccaC]

A weekend without any hard physical challenges is what I need. Today just a pleasant morning ride down the beach bike path to Redondo Beach and a late breakfast with some friends. No climbing, just a relaxing 26 mile ride with a great conversation and good food in the middle

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[lauraelmore1033]

Did the Skagit County Spring Classic metric century on the recumbent. Started out fine, but as soon as I hit the climby bits of Chuckanut drive, I started having problems shifting. The chain wouldn't drop down from the middle ring to the small ring, so I had to dismount and move the chain myself--all old-school like. After a couple similar instances, I just decided to keep it in the small ring until the lunch stop, 20 miles off, since there were a lot climbs and rolling hillyness, and I couldn't continue to hop off the bike and move the chain to the small chainring manually every time I encountered a hill, or it would have taken forever! The mechanic at the rest stop really knew his stuff and adjusted the FD, and then hopped on and put the bike through some loops, making hard shifts, making sure it was shifting correctly, but wasn't set too far to the inside. It shifted like buttah after that, and I didn't tip that guy enough! The rest of the ride was pure pleasure, and I enjoyed the long descent after Bow hill, the scenic farm lands, and on to the beautiful views of Fidalgo bay. I was happy as a clam until I was almost killed by an on coming truck, swinging wide to pass a slow moving farming implement on Farm to Market Road. Screamed like I was in an 80s slasher movie, I did, then dropped a lot of f-bombs at the driver, who did luckily, see me at the last second, and narrowly avoid hitting me head on.
This remains one of my favorite rides, in spite of the fact that it seems to get more dangerous every year.

[azfiddle]

LOVE all the photos!

I have been getting in a few rides- Last Saturday was Mt. Lemmon. I had a long, long week at work and was pretty unmotivated so climbing to milepost 11.5 (from about 2400 feet at the base to about 5900 feet at Bear Canyon) was further than I expected. With the ride to the base and back, it was 42 miles. Sunday, quick ride to Saguaro NP and just out on the short road to the picnic ground. A "half-commute" on Monday and then the rest of the week was really windy so I opted out of riding in the afternoons.

Yesterday I rode with a friend out east of Tucson. It was pleasantly and unseasonably cool all morning- about 15 degrees below the normal 90 degree high for this time of year. We had a great ride and conversation and covered about 42 miles.

Monday I noticed shifting (rear) was a bit weird, and yesterday it quickly got worse. I had my suspicions that the cable was fraying and sure enough, that suspicion was confirmed when I took it in to the bike shop on the way home. They were able to replace the cable that afternoon but this is the third time I've had the problem. Their advice was just get the cables changed more often so I don't end up with a more expensive repair to replace the shifter.

[khg]

Nothing epic to report on for a while now. But for the last few weeks, I've been on the bike quite consistently commuting and doing errands. The miles pile up pretty quickly for not having done any "real" rides. At some point I need to put some training rides back on the calendar so that I don't suffer unduly on some upcoming events. But I feel like the consistent riding is helping too--or at least I like to tell myself that :) I've put up a few personal best times recently while weighted down with panniers or my messenger bag, which has been gratifying. I also think I've added some muscle, as my weight is right now at the higher end of its usual range, but my muscle visibility/definition is the same as when I'm at the lowest of my usual weight range, and my tight jeans are going on without the elaborate squeezing and shimmying that they sometimes require...

Meanwhile, Bike Month and good weather have a ton of cyclists out, and I've been running into full bike racks quite frequently... If I wanted to hunt for far away parking, I'd be in my car--half the time I ride my bike somewhere, it's because I'm feeling too lazy to deal with driving!

[Crankin]

It's almost 90 degrees here; humid, too. Stayed up a little late to go out early, so we did a quick 20 miles around to great Brook Farm and back. Hot, dry, windy. When I got back, I was so red in the face, I thought I had forgot to put on sun block, but it was just the heat. The ride was uneventful, glad I did it, but also glad it's over. Definitely need to do some more 40-60 mile rides over the next month, before I go on my tour, but this week, at least I did one 40 and one 50 miler. KHG, it's my little 10 mile commutes and short rides that generally keep me in shape and I don't worry about it!
Off to Harvard Square to meet DS and DIL for dinner.

[Catrin]

Looks like everyone is having fun, and Rebecca, I LOVE your photos!

Sounds like a fun, hot ride Crankin! I loved/hated riding in that combination of heat and humidity - but there is just something about riding in those conditions that is very satisfying, though I can't say why. At least for me.

[Crankin]

I think it's the fact that riding in the heat makes me feel like I worked really hard and it also makes me lose weight... don't really like it, and I swear it's from all of those years being in a climate controlled environment in AZ and FL, where I never went outside for 4-5 months out of the year, becaue it was just too hot.

[Helene2013]

OMGoodness....look at all those beautiful pics. Nothing to ride like this here. Nah...very standard! hihi

Today was our first ever ride (well the 2nd for husband - the 1st he had a bad crash with his club ride 3 weeks ago) of the season. We only did 31.6km but it was hot, sticky, muggy. I am so happy with all the training I did this past winter. I was really fast, stable and had so much fun today. My husband said he hurt the first 30 minutes into the ride but his thigh muscle (where he fell at 34km/h) was ok past that. He's still in physio twice a week (plus daily things to do at home). So overall, it was an excellent ride considering everything.

We also had pretty strong wind and I had no issues with it. Our bikes are such a dream to ride. Stable, fun, fast. Pure joy.

[azfiddle]

I feel like I've been cursed with flats this week! Last Saturday, I had a flat en route to Mt. Lemmon. Monday I picked up a nasty thorn and discovered right before I planned to ride to work. Yesterday, another thorn.

But today just half a mile or so from home, I heard a tremendous bang and the clink of metal as I was starting down a hill and felt like I was wrestling with the bike to keep it stable. When I was able to stop, I pulled out this nail: 17616

My husband picked me up and I changed the tire. Hopefully, that's the end of it!

[rebeccaC]

I feel like I've been cursed with flats this week!

yeah thanks for passing that curse on :( I read your post last night and had one of those on my commute this morning....and I was blaming YOU for writing about that word :(:(

fixing it did give me a few minutes of zen mindfulness while sitting on grass and having the ocean in front of me though so I guess i should THANK YOU :)

“Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.”
― Mother Teresa

eta isn't that an area with a lot of thorn's...

[Crankin]

I commuted yesterday... there seems to be an usual amount of traffic and I am not sure why. I commute on the outside edges of rush hour, and while it's not quiet, it doesn't feel crazy. Yesterday did. For the first time ever, another cyclist pulled up to the light with me, as I was waiting to cross Rt. 2, right outside my office.
One of my clients asked me if "bikes were allowed in the middle of the road?" I gave her a quick recap of the laws, and told her she had asked me some very good questions! I guess she had a run in with a group of 4 cyclists who were spread out across the road and wouldn't move.

[Catrin]

Was it the same today, or do you commute every day?

[Crankin]

I work 3 days a week and usually commute 2 of them. Sometimes only once. I was ready to ride today, but thunderstorms were predicted for my ride home, so I bagged it. The traffic was not as bad, and I left the office at the same time. I would have been riding in rain that would have been Ok with my rain jacket, but I needed a rest day. Planning to go out for a "dark" early AM ride tomorrow, as I have a workshop scheduled on my day off.

[Catrin]

I hope you enjoyed riding today! I used to commute on Fridays since I could leave home at 5:30 am and return home at 1. I wasn't about to ride to downtown Indy during either rush hour :) I did enjoy riding through several scenic neighborhoods.

How long of a ride do you have?

[Crankin]

I had an awesome ride this morning! I left at 4:54 and rode 10 miles. Wanted to do more, but it was a good thing I didn't, since when I got back, I realized it was at a different hotel than the last one (same town) and I had to figure out how to get here, in addition to showering and eating. The cool thing was, I saw 4 other cyclists and hardly any cars.
My commute is only 5.2 miles. Really nothing, but I do go through the center of town, past a prep school, and cross a highway. Monday was humid and warm enough that when I got there, I had to use all of my hygiene supplies. I have bought a few outfits that I can ride in and wear all day, but I was glad I realized Monday was not a day to do that!

[Catrin]

Sounds like a very nice morning's ride, nice!

[ny biker]

Well I am still sick, but have finally managed to get back on the bike. I came down with a bad cold 3 weeks ago, and it triggered asthma symptoms from the very beginning so I knew I'd have to manage things to prevent it from turning into a serious lung problem. So I took it easy, with very little activity for more than two weeks. I went for a walk a few times to gauge my recovery, but even when I felt good while I was out walking I had problems with congestion and coughing afterwards. I suppose the high tree pollen levels contributed to the problem.

At any rate, by last Monday I was mostly better except for a hair-trigger coughing reflex (merely drinking water was enough to get me going) and a mild sore throat that caused my voice to be hoarse. I planned to go for a ride on Wednesday evening. Then it rained on Wednesday so I rescheduled for Friday. I think the two-day delay actually helped, because the laryngitis continued through the week and in fact has still not gone away. Friday's ride went pretty well, all things considered. My pace was a bit slow but I expected that. I also found that the laryngitis affected my breathing -- air has to pass through your larynx to get to your lungs, and when the larynx is inflamed the air passage is smaller. I used my asthma inhaler, and that helped. So overall I was happy to be back out on the bike.

I did have two incidents with idiot drivers on Friday, unfortunately. Virginia has passed a 3-foot passing law and has also passed a law allowing motorists to cross a solid yellow line in order to pass cyclists. However I don't think these laws have been publicized, even in the supposedly bike-friendly area where I was riding. Both incidents were on roads in residential areas with a 25 mph speed limit. Both are narrow with cars parked along the sides so it's legal and safer to take the lane. One of them is marked with sharrows. On that one, the idiot driver drove in the parking lane and passed on my right, way too close to me. On the other one the driver passed on the left but also came way too close. I tried to tell them both what I thought of them but the laryngitis prevented me from being heard.

On Sunday I joined some friends for a club ride. The planned route was 46 miles, which was longer than I wanted to ride given the lingering cold (I think this particular strain is the Rasputin virus). But on Saturday night someone sent out an email saying that he planned to ride a shortened version of the route due to some knee problems, so I decided I would ride with him. Five people came out for the ride, and as it turned out all but the ride leader wanted to do the shorter version. So we came up with a compromise route that was shorter than the leader's planned route but was about 5 miles longer than the originally-planned shortcut. The total distance was 34 miles.

I had more laryngitis-related breathing problems on this ride, and the asthma inhaler didn't help as much this time. But the route was mostly flat and I was able to get through it okay. Toward the end my sit bones were hurting. Who would have thought that I'd be having that problem on the second weekend in May.

So now it's three days later and I STILL have the laryngitis. In fact it was worse on Monday, due to many phone calls and in-person conversations related to getting my car fixed after being involved in a crash several weeks ago. I've been resting my voice yesterday and today, and will go out for a short ride this evening to see how things are.

[Crankin]

We led a 19 mile ride tonight. It's a show and go series, listed as intermediate level (av. 14-16)... 4 guys show up. One can keep up with DH, one has a road bike with 32 tires that are rubbing and doing other bad things, one is his first ride of the year (he's in chinos, t shirt, sneakers, creaky touring bike), and one is Ok, rides about my speed, but is having issues unclipping and falls back on hills. Oh, the fun. We made it back just as the sun was going down, but I was not happy. Two of those guys did not belong on this ride and one should not have come with a broken bike!
We had planned a GPS route, but the traffic was so bad on the first street when we drove to the start, we bagged it (none of them had GPS) and made it up in the parking lot.
We are doing 3 more of these this summer, so hope the people self select more properly.

[Crankin]

I rode with my friend, Linda, for the first time this season. She's the one I hooked on cycling a few years ago. She's much slower than me, but compared to those guys last night, I'd ride with her any time! She has good skills. Anyway, we started out from her house, near where our group ride started last Saturday, so we set out to do that route. I am exhausted... not used to riding at night (last night) and I could not get to sleep. That, and going to boot camp this morning, working the morning, and riding did me in. I thought going at a slower pace would be OK, and I wasn't dying, but I knew I needed to rest. When we got to a certain point, I asked her if she'd be Ok to head back, and she said yes, as she had done Cross Fit this morning. Still managed to do 18+ miles, and I am looking forward to sleeping in on a rainy morning tomorrow.

[Crankin]

Today we did our first ride of the season to Bolton Orchards for lunch and back. This is a hilly ride, so good training for France. Usually, it's 50 miles + a little, but because of grooved pavement on a downhill toward the end of the ride, we took a slightly shorter way home, so it ended up being 46 miles and about 2,400 ft. of climbing. We purposely keep it slow on these rides, so we feel good when we get to lunch! The majority of the hard climbing is right before the stop, but there is an awesome downhill to make up for it. After lunch, there is a 4 mile gradual climb, not shaded. It does flatten and go down a few times, but after lunch, it feels hard. DH was really going slowly, and I forced myself to stay behind. Good thing, because after this, there's one more annoying climb, and then a long downhill, when we get back to an area that's more local riding for us. This is where I started feeling like I was losing it, but I ate a Shot Block, which helped right until I got to the climb up my street. It was 81 today and the clouds cooperated and came out for most of the climbing that wasn't shaded. It was quiet out today; not so many cars or riders, and Bolton Farms was quiet, too. I think there's a lot of graduations and end of the school year sports stuff going on.
Yesterday, we did a fast 19 miles just around Concord and Carlisle. It was also my first beer and ice cream day of the season :).

[Owlie]

Took the road bike out for the first time in months. Even though I bike to work only occasionally (I don't know how long I'll be at work until I get there), I think it's done me some good in terms of keeping my fitness up. Despite the difference in gearing, the hill on the way home is so much easier on a bike that weighs less than 30 pounds (never mind the weight of the stuff in the pannier). 31 miles today. Still not acclimated to the heat, though...

[MarieV]

We've been lucky with unusually warm and dry weather here in the PNW, so I've been bike commuting and doing more 100 km rides on the weekends. DH and I did my favorite Maltby-Granite Falls 100K ride last weekend, and I matched my fastest time on a 100K ride. I guess all the bike commuting, which involves uphill climbs both ways, is finally paying off. Yesterday, we did the Seattle Lakes and Trails 100K, which got kind of crazy since there must have been hundreds of riders going in the opposite direction on the Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River Trails doing the Haul Ash bike ride commemorating the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

[Jolt]

Just got back from a 4-day tour with a friend...we started in Augusta, rode to Camden (about 45 miles) and camped in a state park there that night and the next (the second day was spent in the local area there, taking it easy), then the next day we rode 10 miles to Rockland, got on the ferry to Vinalhaven (one of the islands off the coast) and rode about 10 miles there before taking the ferry back and then riding to Rockport where we camped last night. Then today we rode back to Augusta, another 45-mile day which felt like it was mostly uphill (there was also a bit of a headwind for parts of it). Today was the hardest day...between the elevation/headwind and the fact that I think I waited a little too long to eat something and was probably in the beginnings of a bonk about halfway through; the rest of the ride after that just felt a lot harder than it should have. Despite the "off" day today it was a great trip and I hope to do more trips like that. Trying to figure out where I can pare down the weight of my load a bit, since that will make the climbing a little easier.

[Dragonfly5]

Sounds like a great trip Jolt!

[marni]

I actually got out on my bike for the second time this month. It has been a battle between constant wind, thunder, lightning and wind and riding. I opt for safety and trainer workouts. Our yard has become a swamplett of 3-5 inches of standing water. The frogs and toad are happy and the heron checks it out now and then, but the dogs (corgie, and mixed shitzu) have requested either stilts of a raft.

Today was hot and humid with a brisk little breeze but at least there was no rain. The humidity made up for that. Now starts the season of sweat rings on the floor of the garage. I took off my sweat band, held it out and watches the sweat run off it. Still I managed 34 miles at 15.2 which is very fast for me. Gues the trainer intervals or the adreniline surge from finally being outside helped. With any luck, tomorrow will stay dry long enough for me to ride again so I can do a back to back. Fingers crossed!

[Helene2013]

Isn't it a great feeling Marni when you realize all the hard work done on trainer is a real payoff when we get our bikes out? :)

This weekend we were in the Burlington (VT) area for camping and picking up my Crux frame. So of course we brought our road bikes along.

It was the 2nd but 1st real ride since my husband crashed in his club. He's improving but still in physio. He says only the 1st 30 minutes are rougher on the saddle but after he's good.

So we left Colchester and headed to Burlington using the bike path. It was soooo much fun that we asked for a late checkout yesterday to redo a bit of spinning the wheels. BUT!!! yesterday was so windy and so hot and so humid. HATED that. We left the campground and did about .5km, on a hill to start. Not even warmed up. I was already sweating just dressing up...imagine cycling. haha Did I tell you I hate heat. I'm such a lost case with the sun and the heat. lol Anyway, after cycling about 5km I was warmed-up enough and did no longer feel the burning/stinging in my thighs (from the ride the day before). I'm not used to a lot of hills so this weekend was all that. And to top it off, yesterday winds were gusting at about 45km/h. That is a lot for me. But I was never scared (like it I would have been with my ex-Kuota). We ended doing 30km and it was just enough for a 2nd day in a row in harder conditions than I'm used to.

So very happy that I've worked hard at intervalls and simulate hills during my winter training. Although it was hard, I never felt like quitting or getting off my bike to finish that climb. Maybe it is also a combination of having lost 8 pounds that helped too. Oh...and my knees never once cried for mercy while pushing to get to the top of the hills. They were tired, but that's about it. So my synvisc is working for sure. I would not have done that last year without icing them and taking Aleve once in the car. Life is good!

My speed Sunday was excellent. Yesterday I was a bit slower due to "pain", winds pushing me back.

But it was one of my best cycling weekends ever.

[marni]

I got out again for a second ride today. Not as long or as fast, definitely had some better tail winds than I thought yesterday as I can't believe that I am actually showing some improvement. I always sya I could go fast like Lance on a steep downhill with a good tailwind.

25 miles at 14.8 which is more like my average speed.

As hot as and if possible more humid than yesterday. I obviously need to move a basket of beach towels out to the garage to mop up with and the sweat circles on the floor are now turning into major large wet areas. sigh......

[Crankin]

I went out alone around 10:00 AM, with the idea of doing about 20-25 miles, combining some local roads in a new way.
Good thing I didn't. I sneezed a bunch of times before I went, took an allergy pill and nasal rinse. My eyes were hurting, but off I went. It is nice and cool out, around 60 when I left. I got up Strawberry Hill, feeling a little off, and my speed was just a little lower than usual. Then, I had a nice flat/downhill. OK. The next road is about half a mile of 4% uphill. Gradual. All of a sudden, I felt like I was choking, and I wished I had my inhaler! After a bit, I stopped and drank half of my bottle and blew my nose. I slowed down and regulated my breathing, but I was in a cold sweat. At a certain point, maybe mile 9, I turned right instead of left and headed home. Just when I started going up my street, up the hill, a group of about 8 cyclists were coming down the hill. Iknew almost all of them, and was slightly embarrassed about my leisurely pace of say, oh, about 5.5 mph. But, I felt bad enough to not really care. Came home, showered all of the pollen off of me and took my contacts out. Still not feeling great and I am planning to ride early early AM. Hopefully, it's gone by then. A grand total of just under 14 miles.
Glad I didn't drive 45 miles to do a metric today!

[Crankin]

Had a great ride in cool temperatures, with bright sun. Starting off, it was really cool, almost fall -like, but I so prefer this to 80+ degrees. This was a major hill ride for me, over 3,000 ft. of climbing in 50 miles. Other than my GPS totally freezing and needing to be rebooted, it was fun, although the hills were hard. We went through Acton, Boxborough, Harvard, Bolton, Clinton, and Lancaster, and then back to Acton. Did one hill I haven't done in 5-6 years (Vaughn Hill) and Old Bay Rd., which I did not do last year. Both of these roads are in Bolton and have 10-13% grades. Needless to say, my average was low, but it felt like we were riding in Vermont, except going through Clinton, which is a pretty depressed looking town. We also went up or down some hills we usually do in the other direction.
Feeling pretty good and getting ready to go out to the Dudley Chateau, ("the Chat"), one of the oldest and truest pubs around here. It's a secret, hidden place I went to on a group ride.

[Lelani Carver]

I did the Chicago "Bike The Drive" Sunday with a few thousand other people, and rode 30 miles. DH and I met up with other members of Team Red (Tour de Cure) and had a great day despite drizzling rain. There was one jerk that yelled at me but I and others yelled back. I also did 22 miles Saturday on a friendly social ride organized by a wonderful woman through Meetup.com. Locally in Chicagoland the CBG Meetup rides are well run, safe, and teach good group ride etiquette.

[rebeccaC]

I did the Chicago "Bike The Drive" Sunday with a few thousand other people, and rode 30 miles.

Lelani… that sounds like a fun time…is that the ride where only bicycles are allowed on Lake Shore Drive for the day?

There is an organized ride over three passes in the California Sierra Nevada mountains each July with 15,000 feet of climbing and 130 miles. A small group of us are planning on doing it. I was originally planning on doing a one-day Seattle to Portland ride again but this ride is the same weekend and a different kind of challenge. Because of the driving time to where we stayed to begin the ride, this memorial day weekend was a good one to ride the two steepest of the passes on the route for a total of 92 miles and 12,000 ft of climbing. We started and ended in Markleeville Ca., which is also the start/end point for July’s ride. We rode the July rides route up both sides of Monitor Pass and then both sides of Ebbertts Pass. Coming down the east side of Monitor Pass to Topaz lake was just an incredible fast descent on good pavement but knowing I had to go back up it gave me pause. On the way back we rode 4 miles past Markleeville to Grover Hot Springs for a long relaxing soak. Such gorgeous country with a lot of breathtaking views…well when I had the breath to spare..:)

The ride gave me a good chance see how I would acclimate to the elevation and to gauge my hydration/nutrition and mental strategies. Good friends and a good challenging ride always makes for a good day

[Lelani Carver]

Yes, they have a closed loop with rest stops, food, and live music at the main starting point, but just until 11am. Your ride sounds epic!

[Crankin]

I did a little recovery ride on Sunday, 17 miles. Figured out that through my GPS meltdown the day before, some of the settings had been altered, like the one where you get to calculate your average only on actual riding time... I was a bit suspicious on Saturday, but I knew there were a lot of things wrong, when my speed was the same for like a half hour, no matter if I was climbing or descending! At the end of Sunday's ride, I looked at my stats, and I knew this setting was off, as it was a ride on local roads, where I am very good at judging a lot of stuff. That got fixed.
Yesterday I went for a short trail run, even though I should have rested. Today, just a commute and tomorrow I am forcing myself to do a group ride that is really lovely, in an area I don't ride in very often.

[Crankin]

Well, my last ride in May was yesterday, as it is raining on and off, fairly hard today. Despite getting up at an ungodly hour, I dawdled and it was raining when I went to get on the bike, after getting my bike clothes on. DH and I went for a planned short walk and were about 3/4 mile from home, when it started raining again. I had my rain jacket, but right when it was really starting to pour, our neighbor drove by and gave us a ride home.
Yesterday's ride was a test of a Thursday night ride we are leading in July. We rode to the start, about 5-6 miles and then carried on. It was hotter than hell when we went out, about 1:30 and I knew I'd be suffering, despite a lot of shade and drinking copious amounts of Skratch lemon lime. However, the ride took us through a neighborhood that was new to us, huge homes, with a hill and at least a mile of a false flat. At this point, my very good average went plummeting. After a very nice downhill, we headed home, instead of doing the last 2 miles of the ride, as, if we had ridden back to the start, and then home, it would have involved more climbing than I wanted to do. I did get my average within .1 mph of where it had been, but before I climbed my hill, I stopped and poured my water over my head and down my bra.

[Helene2013]

Wanted to ride yesterday but major storm warnings and too much heat prevented me from heading out. We have a 110km ride next weekend so I have to get one out before THE day.

Today we still had rain in the morning, very cold too (like 8c). No way to ride. So we took the dogs for a car ride (they love it) and went to check where our start will be next weekend. Find parking area, etc. Then early dinner as we only had toasts early today. As we were having dinner, the sky became clearer...so home we went to drop off the dogs, changed and hop on the bikes we went for a 40km ride, even with the winds. I'm so proud of me and all the training I did. Riding is so easy and no longer a fight.

Bring on June! :)