November Rides

[Crankin]

Got out today, for the first time in a week. It is way above average temperature for this time of year, 57 when I left, and 62 when I got back. I thought I was dressed OK, but after 4-5 miles, I started feeling weird and realized I was just hot (and hungry), so I took off my arm warmers. Then, after another couple of miles, I had to stop to eat part of a Lara Bar. Despite feeling bonky for about half the ride, I actually felt "good," which sounds strange. I did a semi-loop of 15 miles, where at the beginning and end I was on the same road. Nothing special, all super familiar roads, mostly in Acton and then back to my house.
I have noticed that there is just more traffic out during the day now, and it is annoying. Obviously, where I live, it's not city type traffic, but it's noticeable. I think maybe because so many people work at home now, that they are out and about during the day, doing errands. If I had gone just a mile or two further west, I would have gotten into very quiet riding, but I am on a schedule.

[north woods gal]

Finishing up the trail work by adding some 6" PVC pipe as artificial logs to jump with the bike. Hoping to find some 8" pipe, too, at some point, but any bigger brings on the issue of the chain ring snagging when crossing. Mostly, though, have been putting in one solid hour of climbing and jumping every day and hope to work up to two full hours, this month.

Unusual weather for us. Have only had one night of actual freezing temps, though our daytime highs are in the normal 40s and 50s. A good hard freeze would actually firm up some of the muddy spots on the trail.

[emily_in_nc]

Finally got out today for my first ride since riding in Kentucky on October 17! Longest time off this year, I think. We've been busy with family time and travel, so it was great to get on the bike again, especially given the unseasonably warm weather and sunshine. It was around 65F at the start of the ride and 75 at the end, in November! :-)

We rode in our old neighborhood in NC as we are currently in the area for a short visit for some doctor's appointments for DH (routine stuff). Got to see a former neighbor and enjoyed riding many of the rural roads we've ridden hundreds of times. A few new houses, but not too many changes, which is kind of nice. We have not ridden in this area since 2011, before moving to Belize.

I was pleased to note that even though I am surely a bit slower than when we lived here, the ride didn't seem any more difficult (it's rolling hills), so I guess all the tough rides out west this past summer really helped my fitness level. Ended up with a little over 26 miles at a 14 mph pace.

We'll ride again tomorrow, then it gets much cooler, so that may be it for riding for this visit.

[azfiddle]

So far, I have two commute rides for November. Yesterday was the first time I had to wear a windbreaker in the morning! Seems like most of my miles are from commuting lately. But 19 miles round trip adds up!

[north woods gal]

Emily, that's a great pace for rolling hill country. All that summer riding, for sure.

Az, my best ever year for miles on a bike was one of the years I went bike, only, no car, including a 16 mile round trip for commuting. For sure, those commuting miles really add up.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks, NWG. I was significantly slower on today's ride, but I rode my Bike Friday with rack and trunk pack. We rode some of the same rural route as yesterday but detoured over to the food co-op in town where we used to be members. It has expanded substantially since we left the area! Bought a few things, then rode the same route back to the campground. Ended up with 30 miles today and am going to enjoy a day off tomorrow. I am feeling it now!

Today is the last day of the warm weather. We left in the mid-60s and returned in the mid-70s again. Looks like we may not enjoy this much warmth again until we get down to Florida later in the month. It has been delightful riding in shorts and short-sleeve jerseys as leaves fall all around us, I must say!

[Blueberry]

Thanks, NWG. I was significantly slower on today's ride, but I rode my Bike Friday with rack and trunk pack. We rode some of the same rural route as yesterday but detoured over to the food co-op in town where we used to be members. It has expanded substantially since we left the area! Bought a few things, then rode the same route back to the campground. Ended up with 30 miles today and am going to enjoy a day off tomorrow. I am feeling it now!

Today is the last day of the warm weather. We left in the mid-60s and returned in the mid-70s again. Looks like we may not enjoy this much warmth again until we get down to Florida later in the month. It has been delightful riding in shorts and short-sleeve jerseys as leaves fall all around us, I must say!

Wait - I didn't realize you were in this area now! The weather has definitely been odd - the 40 tomorrow night is going to be a rude awakening. Have fun and happy travels!

[rebeccaC]

Emily…riding roads that have good memories ftw!!....
nwg...It sounds like your trail building skills are going to give you some good exercise in the coming months!!

Back to Carly rd for the ride after work and before I head home from Oxnard. A pleasant end to a long hard work week of travel, a day at home and today’s work in Oxnard…..and the beginning of a weekend of being adventurous with Alex.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5833/30148082633_8cd8a4308e_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MW5NCa)


https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5463/30148079843_1ecfa35dae_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MW5MN4)

[north woods gal]

What heavenly roads to ride! Thanks for the pics. Pretty darn good photography skills, too. :)

[Catrin]

Beautiful roads - and great photography!

[emily_in_nc]

Wait - I didn't realize you were in this area now! The weather has definitely been odd - the 40 tomorrow night is going to be a rude awakening. Have fun and happy travels!

Yes, just briefly for some doctor's appointments for DH (routine stuff). I haven't announced it publicly on Facebook as I don't want friends whom we just don't have time/energy to see to get their feelings hurt. We are contacting a few folks individually and had a great lunch with a good friend yesterday. As introverts, we have to manage our interactions pretty carefully or we get overwhelmed -- we could easily socialize every single day here if we were so inclined. But we're not. :rolleyes:

We are west of Carrboro, and it was in the upper 30s this morning. What a change, and not for the better IMO. Although I love my home state, I can't wait to get to Florida!

[emily_in_nc]

Gorgeous roads and photography, Rebecca! Thanks, as always, for sharing!

[Crankin]

It was 29 degrees when I woke up this morning, which meant I was pretty sure we would not be doing a 63 mile ride, for my "ride my age" birthday ride. But, we ended up doing a lovely, very local ride of 33 miles, starting when it was 39 degrees and after 11 AM. We rode a loop we often do when we don't want to do big hills, to start off, and then we thought we would head to Harvard, MA for one climb, lunch, and home. But, it was already after 1:00, and we were hungry, so we ate our snacks and decided based on our slowness today, we would be eating around 2:30. Since we are going out for a really nice dinner tonight, we decided to head into West Acton via the long way and stopped at the local gourmet farm market to buy a sandwich to share. It was a little warmer out, so we sat at the picnic tables outside. We ate pretty quickly and then decided to head home, which was not that far. Ended up riding 33 miles, and noticing that a lot of the trees still have beautiful color, which was very calming. It stayed mostly cloudy, with some sunny breaks, a light wind, and I was also dressed mostly correctly. I did change to a lighter pair of gloves and head cover. I think tomorrow will be a hiking day.

[Catrin]

Sounds wonderful Crankin! Glad to hear you still have color and had a relaxing ride. I will be hiking tomorrow myself, just ran out of time to go today but tomorrow is supposed to be just a couple of degrees warmer.

[north woods gal]

An hour workout on the trails, trying to up my pace, plus more hours working on the trails. How could I not with the temp hitting 70 degrees, this afternoon? This is just nuts. In an average year, our lake has begun to ice up and some snow on the ground. This year, though, have only had one night below freezing and still none in next week's forecast. Makes me a little nervous because when Old Man Winter wakes up and looks at the calendar, we're probably going to get walloped. In the meantime, though, I'm going to ride, ride, ride. :)

[emily_in_nc]

That's crazy weather, NWG. We had a high in the 60s yesterday in NC, while you were 70! So very wrong. :rolleyes: Glad you are able to take advantage of it as long as you have it.

[emily_in_nc]

Very nice rural ride today, probably our last ride in the area (NC), so I am glad we had such a nice day for it. It was 58F when we headed out, later than we would usually to allow it to warm up a bit. I wore light tights, ear band, light wind vest, bolero over sleeveless jersey, and wool socks. I am sure to some of you that sounds like overkill, but it ended up being just right for me as this was the chilliest riding weather we've had for awhile. On the way back it was in the 60s, so the vest came off, but everything else stayed on, and I was fine.

What a day not to have my camera with me (it has a scratched lens so is out for repair). I got to see a cow calving and the little calf take its first wobbly steps in the pasture by the campground as I pedaled back to our motorhome! What a treat!

31.5 miles on a sunny fall day.

[Sky King]

Oh my gosh, we actually rode on pavement this weekend, on unloaded touring bikes. What a treat. We closed the shop an hour early on Friday, took the tear drop, the bikes and the truck and drove to Cambridge Idaho. The Weiser River Trail passes through Cambridge, and is mostly dirt and gravel but we opted to stay on paved roads for a change. Camped at Mondo Hot Springs - note they also have a hostel and host quite a few bike riders. We road Hwy 71 toward Hells Canyon and the snake river. A climb of 15 or 16 miles and then a 6 mile drop into the canyon. We didn't go all the way to the river but stopped at a fun little store and cafe. Even though they'd technically stopped serving breakfast, they did so for us. The climb out wasn't horrid - we were laughing as so much of our riding has involved hike a bike lately it was nice to pedal the whole ride! All in all was a 50 mile trip with wonderful weather - topped out at 58 degrees. Tons of wild turkey and these crazy apple trees are scattered all along the road - not an orchard, all the sudden there is just an apple tree in amongst the pine and aspen. The soak after the ride was lovely.

[emily_in_nc]

No riding today as it was chilly and breezy and we had to run a bunch of errands (two home improvement stores, mainly), but bike-related and fun, we went to Performance Bicycle for our annual visit and bought a few needed parts and accessories. Most was boring stuff like tubes, etc., but I got a pretty heather pink bike top (not a fancy road jersey but more of a quick-dry casual t with one back-zip pocket) and nice black socks with a cool pink/purple butterfly to go with it. I don't wear much pink, but I have one pair of bike shorts with pink stitching and only had one sleeveless top to wear with them, and this top was half off, so...!

I was actually looking for a long-sleeve jersey to wear on cooler-weather rides, but they were all black, some with just a bit of brighter colors as accents, but I wanted high-viz. Lots of short-sleeve mostly black jerseys too. What's with this? Sure, it looks good, but I want to be SEEN, thank you. I did see a great high-viz yellow one on the clearance rack, but it was in XXL, which wouldn't work for me.

DH got a nice new Bell helmet in high-viz yellow, a scullcap, and a pair of shorts.

Fun. :D

[north woods gal]

For those on a budget looking for tops and hoodies that would make a good choice for bike clothing, good old Wal Mart carries a lime of Active wear by Danskin that is 100% polyester and it comes in a variety of hi-viz colors, even some with selective accents. Tops run about $10. Designed more for jogging and not bike specific fancy label stuff, but it works.

[emily_in_nc]

For those on a budget looking for tops and hoodies that would make a good choice for bike clothing, good old Wal Mart carries a lime of Active wear by Danskin that is 100% polyester and it comes in a variety of hi-viz colors, even some with selective accents. Tops run about $10. Designed more for jogging and not bike specific fancy label stuff, but it works.

This is true. I actually have one of their long-sleeve high-viz yellow tops and am wearing it in my TE profile pic/avatar! It has faded quite a bit as I've worn it so much for running and cycling. But it's very thin with no rear pocket, since it's really not made for cycling. This time I was looking for a zip-up warmer jersey with back pockets, to wear over a sleeveless or short-sleeve jersey. My DH has a great screaming orange one like this made by Louis Garneau. Performance had some of the same brand for women, but they were just too black for me. I will end up looking online. I don't need it immediately, but I suspect there will be some chilly riding days even in Florida this winter!

Sorry for the brief hijack -- this should really be in the Apparel thread.

[north woods gal]

No problem. It's not like there are thousands of us posting, here, so a lit bit of wandering off topic doesn't bother me.

So, back on topic. Rode my Trek Stashe MTB (surprisingly decent on pavement) over to our local town hall to vote, this morning (only a bit over a mile), then back home for a nice long workout on my trails around the house. Still have a few trail additions (rocks,boulders,logs to climb) that I want to do before the snow falls, but feel very fortunate the weather hasn't figured out it is November. Blustery, this morning, but temps in the 40s which is still above average. Hope to finish the day with another good trail workout.

Have to say, this has been quite a remarkable biking year for me. I've conquered a lot of my fears about riding more difficult technical MTB trails and have learned how to ride over things like logs and rocks rather than go around them (my usual play it safe me). Much stronger and adept on the steep climbs, too. Can't believe that I've been MTB riding all these years and never learned this stuff, but really never had access to these more technical trails, before. Trails in most areas I've lived, before, were tamer, by comparison. Old as I am (mid 60s), still never too late to learn, I guess. Sure is fun, though. :)

[emily_in_nc]

Have to say, this has been quite a remarkable biking year for me. I've conquered a lot of my fears about riding more difficult technical MTB trails and have learned how to ride over things like logs and rocks rather than go around them (my usual play it safe me). Much stronger and adept on the steep climbs, too. Can't believe that I've been MTB riding all these years and never learned this stuff, but really never had access to these more technical trails, before. Trails in most areas I've lived, before, were tamer, by comparison. Old as I am (mid 60s), still never too late to learn, I guess. Sure is fun, though. :)

That is remarkable and admirable! I am still a total wussy on technical MTB stuff. When I got my first MTB ten years ago, I tried to ride some trails that were above my skill level -- actually, at that point anything off-road was above my skill level -- fell a few times, banged myself up, and backed off. I hated the bruises, scrapes, whiplash, and other pains. I continued with the MTB but really riding just gravel roads and double-track trails that had some tough climbs and fast descents but no switchbacks, rocks/roots, logs, etc. That is still what I prefer. Since we are traveling full-time and not always near medical care in case the worst were to happen, the risk is just not worth it to me. But I totally admire those who do it!

[ny biker]

Emily, if you're near an LBS that carries Trek/Bontrager stuff, they have been really pushing hi-viz apparel and accessories this year.

I can't believe you guys are 2 pages into this thread and I haven't posted yet. But then I never got around to posting my last few October rides, either. Things have been busy at work as we adjust to doing the same amount of work after 20% of the staff was laid off. And last week we learned that we're being sold again -- this will be my 7th employer since I started working on this project 16 years ago.

Luckily for the sake of my sanity I have been able to get out riding. Went for the weekly hill ride last Wednesday after work. It was nice, cool but not cold, and uneventful except for the guy in the pickup truck who told me to "get out of the ****ing road, you ****ing idiot." If I'd had a chance to reply I would have said, you must be new here. Because I was riding in one of the bike-friendliest areas around here, where there are lots of cyclists on the roads, and in fact the guy had just turned off of a road with bike lanes. Anyway he braked a few times like he was considering stopping, and there happened to be a police car parked on the side of the road just ahead of me, so I stopped behind the police car and let him drive on. There was no one in the car, but you couldn't tell that in the dark. I took out my phone, checked my email, and finished the ride.

On Saturday we had great weather, sunny with temps in the 60s and blue skies. I led a club ride, 47 miles, near the Chesapeake Bay. Thanks to the weather we had a good turnout. I had a flat near the start, must have ridden over something sharp though we didn't find anything stuck in the tire. A couple of the people in the group stopped with me, and several others who had ridden ahead turned and came back after being passed by a friendly driver who told them that someone in the group had stopped. So I had lots of expert help in changing the tube and getting back on the road with no further incident. It was a nice ride overall. Afterwards I drove around exploring some roads I'd like to include on a future ride before heading home.

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Emily. Having the trails right out my door has been a big factor in overcoming my fears. Knowing I could yell for help or crawl back to the house, even, helps. When doing trails away from home, though, I still play it very safe, but knowing I have skills to handle what the trail might throw at me is makes for a more enjoyable, less nerve wrecking ride.

NY, that is a little spooky with a guy like that. Oh, I've had my share of those idiots, but it still makes my skin crawl, all the more so because I am almost always alone. Nightmare kind of stuff, for sure. On a more positive note, I've never even seen Chesapeake Bay, but it sounds lovely.

[Crankin]

My mtb experience was like Emily's but maybe there is hope for me :).
Today, DH and I went out for a little 15 mile ride, on the last day of his "sabbatical." We might have planned something longer, but when we left at around 10:45, there were already winds sustained at 15 mph, gusting to 30. We planned it so we'd have a tailwind on the way back, but for some reason, the wind kept shifting and getting stronger. My average until we headed back on the loop was a bit above 11 :eek:. We did manage to pick it up the closer we got to home. The only times I've ridden in worse wind was on the Île de Orlean outside of Quebec City and on the century I did by the ocean. It's now sustained pretty much all of the time, so glad we were only out for about an hour.
Cycling is the only exercise I can do without much pain, due to my toe/foot injury (see the hiking thread). It hurts initially when I put my shoe on, but not while riding. Otherwise, this definitely would have been a hiking day. I have to go to a conference tomorrow (a boring one), but it's going to be both cold and windy, so I planned it to take tomorrow for a rest day. It will be nice enough on Sunday, though, to ride.

[north woods gal]

Good for you, Crankin. As long as the biking doesn't aggravate the injury, might actually be beneficial. As for wind, having spent much of my life on the prairie, wind was always a factor when biking. Up here in the deep woods, less so on the rural roads as long as it's a cross wind. Otherwise, I think the road opening might actually increase wind speed. Hard to say. One thing I can say about my mountain biking in the deep woods, wind is NOT a factor. :)

Still decent, but cool weather for my mountain biking, so I am now riding twice a day. Usually have snow on the ground, by now, so I know it's coming. Oh, I'll be doing some fat bike riding in the snow, but just not the same as far as my usual trail work. Snow definitely changes the nature of the trails.

[Catrin]

North Woods Gal - are you doing any fat bike riding before the snow falls? I've been noticing more fat bikes being used for regular mountain biking this year - especially since July - when I've been out hiking.

[north woods gal]

Catrin, oh, definitely. I use my fat bikes (a Salsa Blackboro and, now, also a Surly Pugsley) all year round - in the summer, the majority of my trail riding is now with the fatties, even though I have a regular hard tail and a full suspension MTB. When I post about my MTB riding, I use MTB to mean both standard MTBs and fat bikes. Really one and the same, up here. In fact, some of our local experts now use fat bikes for 100% of their trail work and have their regular MTBs up for sale. Our rough trails are made to order for fat bikes. The fatties really can go where no other MTBs can and they roll over just about anything, no suspension needed. Also love their stable, comfy ride. They're no speed demons and kind of big and clunky on pavement (though there are tires that help, there).

[Catrin]

Catrin, oh, definitely. I use my fat bikes (a Salsa Blackboro and, now, also a Surly Pugsley) all year round - in the summer, the majority of my trail riding is now with the fatties, even though I have a regular hard tail and a full suspension MTB. When I post about my MTB riding, I use MTB to mean both standard MTBs and fat bikes. Really one and the same, up here. In fact, some of our local experts now use fat bikes for 100% of their trail work and have their regular MTBs up for sale. Our rough trails are made to order for fat bikes. The fatties really can go where no other MTBs can and they roll over just about anything, no suspension needed. Also love their stable, comfy ride. They're no speed demons and kind of big and clunky on pavement (though there are tires that help, there).

Thanks, I was assuming that was what was behind the growing use of fat bikes for MTB riding. They look so heavy though, but let's face it, good full suspension mountain bikes are far from light anyway!

[north woods gal]

So true. My full suspension 27.5" tire bike is listed at 29 pounds and my Salsa fat bike at 32 plus. Neither one is anything approaching light, but with MTBs I think weight, or lack thereof, is not as big a deal as with road bikes. Oh, I like a light MTB with a carbon frame for its handling and responsiveness and have ridden a few, but have yet to convince myself it's worth the extra cost. Now, on a road bike, I do very much appreciate a carbon frame.

[Catrin]

I remember my lovely Jamis Dakar (Emily has it now), sweet bike but I think it weighed close to 40 pounds! I never really noticed the weight - well not between crashes :o :rolleyes: :D

[emily_in_nc]

I remember my lovely Jamis Dakar (Emily has it now), sweet bike but I think it weighed close to 40 pounds! I never really noticed the weight - well not between crashes :o :rolleyes: :D

I don't think it is that heavy, Catrin! But I could easily be wrong. Next time I have it off the bike rack, I'll try to remember to weigh it. :-)

It's definitely heavier than either of my roadies, but with the low gearing, I don't notice it much either.

[rebeccaC]

An hour drive north for a ride into the santa monica mountain’s then a relaxing 28 mile finish on rural farm roads and the pacific coast highway…..ending with the sunset at point mugu state park where we parked the car. High 70’s and 57 miles…..and great wild mushroom soup, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and grilled shishito pepper with sweet den miso for dinner over looking the ocean at Nobu’s in Malibu on the way home. Actually the day was designed around the reservations we were able to get at Nobu’s :)



https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5755/30648061760_8ee5526164_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NGgjZW)


https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5524/30913683606_caabd96ea8_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/P6JH7W)


https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5667/30833184892_c2ccf89c05_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NYC8E5)

[Catrin]

Beautiful!

[north woods gal]

More awesome pics. You have the gift, Rebecca.

[Crankin]

Did the part of my birthday ride I didn't do on my birthday. 28.6 miles of which the first half involved the 4 mile climb up Oak Hill in Littleton and Harvard, MA. I haven't done this climb much this year (once or twice), but DH and I went really slowly, and we enjoyed the lovely 55 degree sunny weather. We ate lunch at the Harvard General Store, where I discovered that my phone seems to have stopped working. DH is trying one last thing and if it doesn't work, we have to go stand in line as a walk in at the Apple Store, to get a new one. It's under warranty, but I really don't want to go sit in the mall for 2 hours.
Glad I went riding!

[emily_in_nc]

Your pictures are stunning, Rebecca!

[Helene2013]

Nothing too exciting to report for November yet. :) Weather was warm for time of year yesterday, but oh so windy. Too bad. Told hubby we are taking our Crux out (the road bikes are on the trainer already) and we did only 18km ride. But with the wind facing us for almost half the trip, at some point I could not do more than 13km/h. Heart rate was sky rocketing but no pain in legs. yeah

Note that I managed to slip 3 weekends ago on a clear plastic mat (those you buy by the foot on a roll at home depot, etc.) in the basement. Hubby uses it to put a bike stand and clean up our bikes on. I was decluttering the area and never saw the clear plastic. Nasty fall and luckily I did not re-injure the broken knee (ok now) from this past January. I managed to land on the other leg. Painful but no major damage. So I took 2 weeks off yoga, gym, etc to let it heal properly.

So yesterday was 1st day doing something decent - gymwise! Yeah. Tonight yoga class.

Week is looking mild and hoping to get the bikes out next Saturday. Maybe we'll be able to ride on Xmas day like last year. hihi Then the storm hit on the 26th Dec. and we were done for winter outing on road bike. :)

[ny biker]

Glad you didn't hurt yourself too badly, Helene.

I meant to ride after work last Wednesday but it was kind of cold and breezy and the leaves on the ground were still wet from afternoon rain. So I postponed to Thursday and then was just too tired. I got very little sleep on Tuesday night and had to get up earlier than usual for busy days on Wednesday-Friday. So no mid-week hill ride for me. Saturday I got up early again, but it was to do some hiking out in Harpers Ferry. When I got home Saturday night I was so tired that I skipped dinner and just went to bed.

Sunday was another fantastic fall day in terms of the weather. We're starting to have colder nights, and overnight Saturday it was down into the 30s. But during the day the sun is still strong enough to warm things up, so I planned a club ride on Sunday afternoon, 39 miles with options for short cuts. It was in a rural area east of DC, with stops at a wildlife sanctuary and a park on the Patuxent River. I love riding in that area but for various reasons have not been there since June -- in fact the last two rides I did there were very hot days where the ride started out nice but ended as just trying to get back without heat exhaustion. But yesterday we really got lucky, it was in the 60s and very comfortable for the entire ride despite the cold start to the day. The afternoon light this time of year made all the old barns look really nice. We saw lots of horses, some cows, a donkey and two llamas. Overall just a very nice ride. There were five of us at the start; two of us rode the whole route and the other three took various shortcuts.

[north woods gal]

Still nice weather (for November, anyway), so still riding up a storm on my trails. Added a bypass to one loop because it had a big rock on it that just begged to ridden over. Then found a leftover section of 6" PVC pipe that hubby had used for a project and placed on the trail as my artificial log. Filled with sand and anchored securely, these pipes work very well as logs to cross. The fact that I am now going out of my way to find more objects to ride over rather than avoid, as when I first started making these trails, shows I am making progress. Rain mixed with some snow is forecast for the end of the week, but nothing major headed our way in the way of a big storm or serious cold. Knock on wood, my trails will still be snow free by Thanksgiving.

[rebeccaC]

thanks for the nice photo comments:cool:...i sometimes feel i post too many :o


Glad you didn't hurt yourself too badly, Helene..
+1
and n.y…. if that was the merkle wildlife sanctuary I’ve ridden and hiked in that area during the early fall time of year with friends who live in d.c. ….glad the weather cooperated

[emily_in_nc]

thanks for the nice photo comments:cool:...i sometimes feel i post too many :o

Not at all!

I'm not getting to ride at all right now as we are at my mother's and doing projects for her, plus our own RV projects. Just gotta get through this week, which is busy busy, and we will be in Florida by Thanksgiving -- and I can start riding again, yay! From then on, I'm hoping for lots of rides before the end of the year. I had a goal of 3000 miles this year and still have about 300 to go to achieve that. Have not gotten to ride nearly as much this fall as I'd hoped, mostly due to traveling and family stuff.

[ny biker]

Rebecca, we were at the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary. I love that area. Soon the migratory geese will be back. I was there once on a solo ride during the winter, sitting at the picnic table in front of the visitors' center, when I realized I heard geese. I looked around behind the building and there they were. It was fun to see the reason that Mr. Merkle founded the place.

North woods, I love that you're going out of your way to ride over stuff.

[north woods gal]

Thanks, NY. This daredevil stuff is so out of character for me. Here I am, at my age, discovering a side of me I didn't know I had. Go figure.

Rain, yesterday, so just contented myself with a good workout on the indoor trainer. I maybe approaching daredevil status, but I'm not crazy enough to ride for fun - yet - in a cold November rain. :)

[Crankin]

I really wanted to go on the group ride today, but... we had heavy rain yesterday, through the early morning. The streets are wet and DH said lots of puddles on his way to work. It's cloudy and while not cold, I just wasn't feeling it. Nothing worse than road spray from others on a group ride.
And I hate cleaning my bike.
Walked to the gym and did a Power class, walked home.

[ny biker]

Yes, me too -- I hate having to clean my bike after riding on wet roads.

I'm planning to go out for a ride soon, but some unexpected rain showers have cropped up. They're supposed to be gone before I leave work, and I don't think they will be heavy. I will take a chance, I think, unless the roads are really wet when I leave here.

[north woods gal]

Oh, yeah, cleaning bikes. I commuted in Chicago in the winter (crazy me) and with all that darn salt on the streets, cleaning my bike was an every night thing when I got home from work. That road salt can really eat up a bike. Yuk!

Busy all day doing errands, so by the time we got home from work, already too dark to ride, so just did another session on the trainer. Really miss those long days of summer when I had time to do so many things. Still not used to it getting dark so early. Almost feels like jet lag or something.

[ny biker]

I miss the longer days, too. I bought a light therapy box and have been using it at 5 pm every day for the past couple of weeks. You're supposed to use it in the morning, but the sun is already up when I wake up, so I'm using it after sunset. So far it's not preventing me from sleeping at night, except in a good way -- I'm going to bed at normal time rather than falling asleep on the couch at 9:30 or 10:00.

As for cycling this time of year, I bought two good headlights a few years ago and they were a great investment. I can still ride after work without worrying about when it gets dark. It's all on roads, but years ago I used to ride single track after work once a week with a small group of people. I think it helps with your bike handling skills to ride with just a headlight or two to light the way, because you have to be ready for unexpected bumps in the road or path.

And speaking of riding after dark, I went out last night for a ride. A week ago the roads were wet from rain so I decided not to take a chance with wet leaves on the pavement. Well yesterday we got some unexpected light showers in the late afternoon, but I went out riding anyway. The temperature was just around 50 but I thought the humidity would keep it from feeling too cold. But I was wrong, it was pretty chilly out there. I was okay mostly but was cold on the downhills and faster flats at the end. It was really the first time I've felt cold on a ride this fall, and I won't complain about making it to mid-November before having to say that. I pumped my tires to a lower pressure than usual for better grip and went slower than usual on the downhills to avoid skidding on wet leaves; as a result my overall speed was slower than usual. But I was able to get in more than 17 miles of riding without incident and only a little discomfort.

Now I'm trying to decide what I'll do this weekend. Was going to ride on Sunday because I have things to do on Saturday, but it's going to be cold and windy on Sunday. So I'm trying to figure out the best way to rearrange my schedule for Saturday and squeeze in a bike ride while we've still got above-average warmth to enjoy.

Oh and p.s. yes I will have to clean my bike after last night's ride, but the chain was due for a cleaning anyway. And there wasn't too much road spray -- no mud stripe on my back -- despite the fact that I didn't have my clip-on rear fender.

[north woods gal]

NY, our weather up here in northern Wisconsin is due for a change, so I suspect more November-like whether is headed you way, too. We're supposed to have some snow the next couple of days and then high temps in the 30s, next week. Well, it was great while it lasted. Did some trail riding, this afternoon right up to being too dark to see.

[ny biker]

Yes they're forecasting for us to be 10-15 degrees above average for high temps for the next couple of days, then on Saturday night it will get colder than average and windy and will stay that way through Monday. So sunshine and mid-high 60s today through Saturday, but only in the 40s on Sunday before adding in the wind chill. So far they're expecting things to be pretty much average later next week, but longer range models indicate colder weather for the end of November into December. (Yes I am a weather nerd. ;) But how else will I know how to dress for bike rides??)

So Saturday will be a busy day for me, but I should be able to squeeze a 30-ish mile bike ride in between the things I need to do. Then I will have to find something to do on Sunday, preferably something indoors because I prefer not to be out in 40+ mph winds.

[Crankin]

The weather will work out perfectly for me, as we had to switch our theatre day to the matinée on Sunday again, so Sunday needs to be my rest day. It's going to be 50 and windy, with rain. Then, a colder trend, but probably seasonal.Like NY, I am hyper aware of the weather, mostly so I know how to dress for riding or other outdoor activity. It amazes me how many people I work with have no idea of the weather forecast.

[azfiddle]

I've been continuing to commute frequently- actually will finish a "perfect commute week" for the first time ever today. It was cooler this morning- 43 degrees according to the weather service. I surprised myself by actually riding in the dark and the cooler temps today. Riding home should be great though.

[Crankin]

Sometimes, my spring commutes are like that; 38 in the AM and 75 or even 80 on the way home. When I was teaching, and left for work at 5:45 on the bike, I remember a couple of days going in wearing full thermal winter gear and coming home in a sleeveless jersey and shorts.
It is beautiful out today. I was in a bad mood as all of the members in my women's support group cancelled this morning, so off I went to the grocery store and then after lunch, I went out for a very short ride. I really should be resting today, as I've done lots of muscle work this week, but it's 60 degrees at the end of November! My assessment of my body was correct, so I rode for about 30 minutes, got some fresh air, and now I feel very sleepy. Need to wake up, so I don't fall asleep babysitting my granddaughter tonight.

[north woods gal]

Woke up, this morning, to a skiff of snow on the ground and bitter cold howling north winds. Temps will be below freezing for a couple days, then another storm headed our way, mid-week. What's a north woods gal to do? Why, bundle up and go riding, anyway. :) One thing about riding the trails around the house - hot coffee is only minutes, away.

[Crankin]

Did a lovely 28 mile ride, stopping for lunch at Ferns Country Store. It was 61 degrees when we stopped, but from what I see, it's all downhill through Thanksgiving. It will be sunny on Wednesday, though, and I will do the club ride, though it might be 30 at the start. Time to bring out the heated gloves.
We had an "incident" near the end of our ride. There is a point where Main St splits to the left and another street starts bearing right. This is right at the start of the shopping district. Usually, more cars are backed up going right, but theyere was a really long line in the left. There's a light with arrows in both directions. We had to wait a long time for all the cars to go, we were in the lane behind the last car. An old car came right up behind us, started blowing the horn, tried to run us over, and then went onto the wrong side of the road. We got the plate, but unfortunately, we stopped next to her a the next light. She started screaming at us and DH just kept yelling her plate # and took out his phone. By this time, the light changed, and all the cars were yelling at us! Another cyclist stopped and gave us moral support. The driver was screaming at me and put her window up, and I stupidly, pounded my fist on the window. I was enraged, which was not good. But, she went on, and we did call the police. This was only about a mile and a half from our house, so we will see if they call us back.

[north woods gal]

Pretty crazy stuff, Crankin'. Hope you get some response form the police. Always hard to know what sets these crazies off, but they are out there. Get back to us.

[north woods gal]

Our overnight storm was mostly high winds and icy cold temps, but we did get a skiff of snow. Wasn't enough to even phase the fat bike, though. Pretty much a on-issue. Did ride all the trails though to take an inventory of downed trees and tree limbs. Lots of small stuff, but, fortunately, nothing big enough to require pulling out the chainsaw.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2w7oas1.jpg

[Helene2013]

Tomorrow night we are expecting 5-10cm of snow. 1st of the season. So much fun (NOT) when this hits rush hour traffic. blah!

We had quite a few jobs around the yard to finish before winter. We were wrecked (back, thighs, etc). But still found the energy to do a quick ride of only 18km on the cycloross. Very warm for time of year. A bit windy but I've seen worst. So now we are ready to welcome the snowflakes. Crossing fingers that it won't be a huge storm just yet. We did see a few cyclists on the road we rode but they are rarer.

[ny biker]

Crankin, I'm glad you're okay. Sometimes people are just nuts.

I've had a full day today. First I had to run an errand about 25 miles north of where I live. I got there when the store opened at 9 and planned to be in and out in 15 minutes. That turned into a half hour, though. Then I had a 50-mile drive around the beltway to southern Maryland to the start of the bike ride I was planning to lead for the bike club. The ride started at 11 which I thought would give me enough time to get there 15-30 minutes before the start. Ha ha ha. Of course two lanes of the beltway were closed for road work. So I got there right at 11:00. Two people were waiting for me, ready to ride. Another person was also running late. Fortunately the two who were on time were patient and good-natured about it. We had a nice ride, 33 miles. The weather was fantastic -- 70 degrees and sunny. It was a bit breezy which slowed us down a bit but didn't feel too bad.

We finished before 2:00 which was the goal, for two reasons. First, the annual dinner for club volunteers started at 3:00. It was at a restaurant near the ride start; I chose the starting location specifically so we wouldn't have far to go afterwards. The second reason was the weather. The cold front was due to hit around 3:00. All the weather forecasts I checked were remarkably consistent on the timing, and they were spot-on accurate. It was warm and sunny as I packed up the car and sat in it checking email and putting on a little makeup. By the time I arrived at the restaurant, the sky was cloudy and a bit gray. When we left, around 5:45, there was light rain and sleet, it was windy and the temperature was down to 45.

After I got home I put the flannel sheets on the bed, took the rest of the winter clothes out of storage and put the summer clothes away. Which of course is my semi-annual opportunity to wonder if there is such a thing as "too many sweaters." Because holy cow I own a lot of sweaters. I did pick out a few to donate to Good Will and one that I think my mother might like, if it's the right size. I also went through the bin of short sleeved bike jerseys, because holy cow I have amassed too many of them to fit in the bin anymore. I picked out a couple of old ones that are a bit small and will donate them to the local nonprofit bike shop. I also pulled out a couple that are more like wicking t-shirts -- v-neck with no zipper and just one small rear pocket. They were among the first bike jerseys I ever bought. They're still in good shape so I'll wear them when I go for a walk or to the gym.

[Catrin]

NWG, lovely shot on the snow-covered woods! It made me itch for my hiking boots :cool:

Crankin, that is just plain scary. I was always afraid of meeting someone like that when I was still riding the roads. Rural roads made that a little less likely, but it also meant there would have been few witnesses if something happened. So glad you're ok!

Winter has finally touched central Indiana. I'm all layered for church (massive space, built over 100 years ago, there IS heat but it's really hard to tell it's on, love the congregation though so I stay) - indeed my layers are appropriate for hiking so am taking extra socks + hiking shoes, may find some dirt trails afterwards.

[Crankin]

Catrin, it's only happened to me once before, and just a couple of months ago. I suspect, and I hope this doesn't sound horrible, that it's because my new home is very close to and on the route to a town where cyclists are not so common (but not unknown) and it's just a different vibe. The potential for a lot of anger... It's too bad this happens as this town has a cool downtown, lots of restaurants we patronize, and a sort of growing creative class. But, maybe I know too much from my clients! The old timers don't want change and perpetuate this attitude in their kids, which explains a younger person doing something like this. Well, there is a bike path being built through the downtown, and new sharrows on the roads, so we shall see.

[north woods gal]

Yes, isn't it amazing how the vibe can differ so much as to how a town accepts bicycling and bicyclists. Once lived in a truly great bicycle city in Portland, Oregon, where every neighborhood had its own bike shop and where a high percentage of drivers were also bicyclists. Super bike culture city. Then moved to a northern suburb of Chicago where motorists sometimes went out of their way to hassle you, no bike lanes and where bicycling on the streets was very much an exercise in survival. Believe it or not, some of the local cops even encouraged me, off the record, to ride on some seldom used sidewalks along some nasty traffic roads for my own safety. Night and day difference.

[north woods gal]

Another inch of snow, overnight, so now have enough - barely - to say I am riding in the snow. The fat bikes, though, tell me to get real. They don't consider it snow, yet. Still, almost forgot how uplifting, even spiritual, it can be to ride in the snow on a quiet, lovely day. It's very much the same "I'm in heaven" feeling I get on the cross country skis when everything comes together for that perfect glide. I am so blessed to live, here.

[rebeccaC]

Still, almost forgot how uplifting, even spiritual, it can be to ride in the snow on a quiet, lovely day. It's very much the same "I'm in heaven" feeling I get on the cross country skis when everything comes together for that perfect glide. I am so blessed to live, here.
:)....and feeling blessed ftw!....and and luv the snow covered trail image!!

Taking the weekend off, just a ride to the farmers market, to a morning pilates class and a ride to a meeting on some community issues I’m involved in. We went to the L A Opera’s performance of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten last night (a wonderful creative evening) and just enjoying being home together today .

[north woods gal]

Hey, another Philip Glass fan, here, all the way back to his Koyaanisqatsi days. Way cool.

[emily_in_nc]

What a beautiful shot of the snow-covered trail, NWG! It almost makes me want to ride in the snow. :D

ALMOST.

It has gotten seriously cold most places in the past few days. We hit 24F this morning in western NC. Super chilly for this warm-weather lover! :eek:

Crankin, so sorry about that incident. We've only had a few like that over years and thousands of cycling miles, but every single one shakes you up big time. A couple of times I thought a nutjob just might kill my DH as he gets very angry and will shout and gesture back, where I tend to just inwardly seethe to avoid the possibility of someone pulling out a gun on me! It's such a stressful thing, and I hope you never encounter those particular drivers again.

I can barely remember the last time I got to ride my bike. :( Actually, it was earlier this month but still far too long ago. Since then, we've been dealing with family time (mine) and lots and lots of projects. Over several days, I wallpapered my mother's powder room, which turned out great but took way too long with all the prep and papering to avoid screwing up, and in the meantime, DH did RV projects. We now have a brand new sofa and settees! Still finish carpentry and painting to go, but we got rid of all the 10-year old, sagging, heavy, and plug-ugly stuff, so we are verrrrry happy. Of course, all this work, coupled with the incredibly poor air quality due to smoke from nearby wildfires in western NC meant no cycling at all, despite some nice temps in the past week, until yesterday when the cold front blew through with a vengeance.

But, things are looking up as we are on our way south now at last and will be at our campsite in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. Looking forward to a bunch of rides to finish out the month and then in December and beyond. Bring it on! :)

[north woods gal]

Me, too, Emily, on the confrontation thing. I am very much the non-confrontational type. My DH, on the other hand, is pure alpha male, so have had step in to calm him, down, more than once.

Have a nice, safe trip down to sunny Florida. Wouldn't hurt to send some of that nice sunshine up our way, now and then. The cold and snow I can take, but our winters are WAY short on sunshine. Can be very depressing, at times.

Will ride more, today, in our light snow cover, now about an inch, to compare how my standard MTBs do in comparison to the fat bikes. Kind of neat to have my own MTB test track, right out my door.

[Crankin]

There was about an inch of snow on my car this morning, but none on the grass or roads. It's going to be in the low 30s for the ride start Wednesday.

[ny biker]

Low 30s is below my threshold. I'm trying to decide if I will ride tomorrow after work. It will depend on how quickly the temps drop after sunset but also on how much I have to do before hitting the road the next day for the holiday weekend.

[emily_in_nc]

Low 30s is below my threshold.

Ditto! I have a very wimpy threshold, though. I will not go out unless it's in the 50s. I used to in NC, but now that we've spent so many winters in tropical climes (Belize, Mexico, Florida), I don't even look forward to anything below 60, but I'll do it in a pinch. It's to be 80 on Thanksgiving where we'll be in Florida, so I am pretty pumped. Lows in the 50s so it's not 80 until late afternoon, but still...sunshine and shorts are in my future!

NWG, only wish I could share some of the sunshine with you. We spent one winter in Wisconsin, so I know of what you speak. The clouds and super early evenings are rough.

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Emily. Maybe it's because I spent nearly every day, nearly all day, this summer, either biking or working on my trails, but this transition into getting dark so early this year has really thrown me for a loop. Maybe it's sunshine deficit disorder or something. Could be I need more Vitamin D.

[Sky King]

A belated post. One of my decisions after the elections was to look for ways I can have an impact. Saturday we were able to participate in Cranksgiving. Boise GreenBike was the sponsor and St Vincent's was the beneficiary. The requirements were teams of 4 with everyone renting a GreenBike. We were given a manifest that, in addition to buying food for a family Thanksgiving dinner, included treks across town to take photos at specific landmarks. The day ended at one of our local brew pubs. Winners were announced (well we were all winners ;) ) and beer was consumed. Our Wandering Wheels Group fronted 3 teams plus we knew many of the other riders present. We contributed enough food for 15 families and had great fun to boot. Now riding a Bike Share bike all day was an experience and my knee was really telling me about it on Sunday. Felt good to take action. Happy Thanksgiving to All

[ny biker]

Thank you for sharing this, Sky King. And happy thanksgiving to you too!

[Crankin]

What a good idea.
Maybe next year?

[north woods gal]

That's the kind of news I love, Sky. Thank-you and Happy Thanksgiving, too.

May have 4" of snow coming, so I rode my trails today and marked some intersections with trail tape. Things look much different when the snow covers the trails. Will also wax up the skis just in case we get enough of the white stuff. Lake is now iced over. Winter is here. The fat bikes are ready, the skis are ready and I an ready.

[north woods gal]

Three to four inches of wet heavy snow, overnight, so eagerly hopped on the fat bike, after breakfast and got my workout. And a workout it was. Almost forgot how much pedaling effort it takes to break a trail through this kind of half ice, half snow. Consistency is like wet concrete. A bit tricky, too, with some fishtailing when I took my turns too sharp. Was a time when the fishtailing would've freaked me out, but all the riding in sand I did, this summer, to actually practice controlling the bike in a fishtail paid off. No big deal.

Pretty, though, no doubt about it.
http://i66.tinypic.com/2prh34y.jpg

Our Border Collie, Star, and my constant trail companion. She's a sweetie.
http://i67.tinypic.com/2119qmx.jpg

End of the access trail to our lake with the Salsa Blackboro
http://i65.tinypic.com/29yiipx.jpg

[emily_in_nc]

Gorgeous, NWG, but sure looks cold!

Finally got to ride yesterday, which was the first time in 17 days. :eek: Just too busy with family time and projects. So glad to be back to it. Lots of folks out and about yesterday; guess schools and some workplaces had the day off, or people took vacation. Here I am enjoying my first ride since March on the West Orange Trail in Florida.

18244

Got in 32 miles. Taking off today to cook but will be riding (and not shopping) on Black Friday!

[north woods gal]

Good for you, Emily. By coincidence, that was the same trail I rode when visiting Florida, back in September. I started from the very west end near Claremont. Very nice trail, but oh my, it was hot and humid by this north woods gal's standards. Mid-90s and about that for humidity. That was the trail where I nearly bonked for lack of water and could have headed for that big trail in the sky.

More snow, overnight, but I just keep riding. What can I say? Worst possible snow for riding, though. Temps in the mid 30s and that snow is half ice. Tried some of the narrower wheel bikes, but not even close to doable. Even the 4.8" Salsa tires were fishtailing. Problem with this type of snow is that, when compressed, it forms a layer of ice lubricated with water, under the tires. Slow going and no way to get up the steeps for lack of speed. In fact, when trying to mount the bike form a dead start, the bike slides out from underneath you. Oh, well, all part of the fun. Still, bad as it is, it's still more manageable than cross country skiing in this kind of snow. That's like driving a car with no brakes. :) Hopefully, the weather will get a little colder. Yeah, crazy I know, but when playing in the snow, air temp is a big deal.

[Catrin]

Good foe you, keep riding!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[rebeccaC]

Visiting some wonderful friends of Alex in Michigan and we are enjoying all this trip is about. Good friends, great time making and eating food, playing music and singing together and even riding yesterday morning on borrowed mountain bikes in the cold on wet and muddy roads put a smile on my face :)…..20+ miles and high 30's low 40's...we knew the forecast for this trip so we were prepared for the biking weather!!

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5475/30419212983_a3ffc416f1_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Nm3qen)


https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5497/31082795292_545e1391d5_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PmFs8E)


https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5745/31082896352_20bbfe4b3d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PmFYb5)


https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5700/30405633024_2d18aec31c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NjQPo9)

[Crankin]

Ha, ha, Northwoods. Skiing in New England is almost always like that. Metal edges, and good grooming help. No such thing as powder
nordic skiing!
We did a quick 11 mile hilly ride before heading out for western MA. It was 36 degrees and cloudy. Glad I went, but I am still discouraged with my foot. Riding is fine, but walking/hiking not so much.

[north woods gal]

Yeah, we just ski out our back door, so we have to break our own trails, sometimes over rough country, just like the MTB riding. Nope, no groomed trails for us and no skinny trail skis, either. We use wide, true backcountry wilderness type skis with metal edges. Not super fast, but great for climbing and breaking trail, and strong enough for walking over logs and rocks and so on. Once in awhile, after the lake has frozen enough, a neighbor will be out on his snowmobile. Those tracks make a nice, do-it-yourself groomed trail, for the skis or the fat bikes. :)
http://i68.tinypic.com/259fu2o.jpg


More work with this kind of skiing, but most days, have the woods and lake to myself. Pretty much a wilderness experience, right out my back door. Doesn't get any better than this.

http://i63.tinypic.com/2z3nnrc.jpg

[north woods gal]

Rebecca, all always, great pics. What part of Michigan is that?

[Crankin]

My skis are about half way between true nordic and back country. They are not super wide, in that they fit in the tracks, but I truly had never seen or used really skinny nordic skis until we went to the Methow Valley.

[emily_in_nc]

Rebecca, lovely pics!

NWG, yes, I remember your riding the trail here and how hot/humid it was and that you had issues (understandably!) Those conditions would be very tough for me too. It is gorgeous here right now, though. We rode again today same route (Winter Garden to Apopka and back, 32 miles), and the temp was in the 70s the entire time. Humidity is not noticeable. We haven't done the Winter Garden west into Lake County stretch of trail yet as it is hillier, and we'd ridden so little this month (just three rides in NC) that we wanted to do the easier eastern route three times before heading west. One more time to go!

Today there were so many people out -- guess all the schools and most businesses are closed. We saw recumbents, trikes, no tandems, though. Dog walkers, runners, etc. The trail is nice and wide so only a couple of times did we have any issues with too much trail traffic. The cutest thing we saw was a Boston Terrier with one blue eye (we have a Boston also but no blue eyes) riding in a trailer behind his owner's bike, with his head out the top looking around. Just too adorable! One of these days we really have to get a trailer for Paisley.

[emily_in_nc]

Glad I went, but I am still discouraged with my foot. Riding is fine, but walking/hiking not so much.

So sorry your foot is still not right, Crankin! :(

[Crankin]

It *is* better, but but the recovery is not fast enough for me. Of course, I have not taken a lot of rest. Yes, this is the first hike I have done in 4.5 weeks, since the first aborted one, after a week, but I have been riding, both indoors and out (which doesn't cause a lot of problems) and doing both power class and tabata. I skipped one week of tabata and modified the next, but last week I felt good and did too much. It's on Thursday, so no class on Thanksgiving. Power class is weight lifting, so the only thing I modify are the lunges on my left foot. I keep my foot flat, so there's no pressure on it. One consequence of this injury is I have been favoring the other side of my foot, and that's where I have a bunion, which is now bothering me. And my balance on this side is really off, not in normal activities, but doing any one legged stretch. I worked on using all parts of my foot today, while hiking, and I hope that helps.
Well, it is OK now. I am home and now the other parts of my body are recovering.

[rebeccaC]

NWG…about 40 miles north of Lansing. It’s Alex’s ex (now best friend) from grad school who's teaching at Michigan State…..and I thought of your riding as we rode the dirt side roads and trails on Thursday. :D

Emily….Paisley deserves coming along in a trailer :)

we're at the lansing airport now....hoping chicago is an easy transfer today....

[Sky King]

Hey ALL - we are giving away two fun prizes on Monday - just post a photo of you, your bike or something you've done outside this Thanksgiving Weekend on Instagram and use the hashtag #optoutsidebtn You'll be entered in for the prizes. We have impartial judging on Monday. Grand Prize is a Surly Wool Sweatshirt and runner up wins a BTN water bottle a Surly T-shirt of their choice, socks of their choice and whatever else I can fit into the bottle.

North Woods Gal - I had a border collie that really looked like yours :) He was so good on the trail, we used the command "bike back" when a bike was coming and he'd get right behind me and not move until I told him to release.

[north woods gal]

Rebecca, we're up north, just south of the U.P. border in Wisconsin.

Sky, this is our first Border Collie, but have had other types of Collies, too. We researched the breed, thoroughly, so we knew exactly what we were getting. Very active dogs that need lots of play and work time and generally regarded as one of then most intelligent breeds. That can actually be a challenge, at times, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

[emily_in_nc]

Finished up the week with another lovely ride on the West Orange Trail. A beautiful, cooler day, temps in 60s to 70s, breezy, sunny. LOTS of folks out today but no problems as the trail is wide and most are very polite. The funniest thing I saw was a petite woman with a bike trail hauling a LARGE dog behind her. Not sure how she was going to manage that on the lightly rolling hills! She was just starting out in a very flat area. It was a cute sight, though. Saw two tandems as well. 32.2 miles.

[north woods gal]

Sounds deliciously warm, Emily.

Still riding my trails, but really tough because the snow is now mostly ice. Tried shoveling some tricky spots, but just made it worse because it made the trail even more bumpy and uneven. When it gets like this, the trail decides where the wheels will go as much as I do. Boring, it is not, though. May just take one of the road bikes out on the pavement and/or gravel for a change of pace.

[azfiddle]

The week before Thanksgiving and the weekend were still close to perfect riding weather here in Tucson- a little breezy a few days. I rode to work Monday and had Weds through Friday off, plus the weekend. I rode all 5 days and had 130 miles between Monday and Sunday. A storm came through last night and it's still damp outside this morning- with morning commute time temperatures projected to be in the 30's all week. I admit it - I'm kind of a wimp and can't get motivated to ride the cold and dark- so the bike will stay in the garage until the mornings are back in the 40's.

[ny biker]

Hey ALL - we are giving away two fun prizes on Monday - just post a photo of you, your bike or something you've done outside this Thanksgiving Weekend on Instagram and use the hashtag #optoutsidebtn You'll be entered in for the prizes. We have impartial judging on Monday. Grand Prize is a Surly Wool Sweatshirt and runner up wins a BTN water bottle a Surly T-shirt of their choice, socks of their choice and whatever else I can fit into the bottle.

North Woods Gal - I had a border collie that really looked like yours :) He was so good on the trail, we used the command "bike back" when a bike was coming and he'd get right behind me and not move until I told him to release.

Now I'm wishing we had taken some photos on our bike ride yesterday!

I got back home around 2:30 am on Sunday morning after being in NY with family for the holiday. Ordinarily I would have done an afternoon bike ride after getting back so late but was worried about getting stuck in afternoon holiday traffic. So I contacted a friend who always prefers to ride early and made plans to join her and another friend for a 10 am ride. Of course I did not do my usual prep before going to sleep (fill water bottles, get snacks, etc) so I had to get up early for that. Bottom line, I got four hours of sleep. Not ideal but I've done more than a few summer rides after only 4 hours of sleep so I knew I'd be okay once I got going.

There was a bit of a cold breeze but it was in the low 50s and the sun was out so we were comfortable except for when we stopped at a convenience store near the bay. It was breezier there. There was a picnic table next to the store where a guy on a motorcycle was meeting a friend so they could go for a ride. They had nice bikes -- an orange Harley and a very shiny and well-cared-for Indian. We had a nice chat with them while we had our snacks. In all we rode 46 miles. It was generally uphill into the wind for the last 20, so I was pretty tired by the end.

Afterwards I went to the LBS. I wanted to look for fleecy mid-weight tights, since my Sugoi Subzeros (yes for me they are "mid-weight" not heavy weight) are looking kinda ragged. They didn't have anything fleecy enough in stock but I also wanted to look at saddles, since the padding in my Bontrager Affinity is wearing out. I ended up having a long chat with the manager and will be going back later this week to try a new saddle. Then on the way home I hit up REI to see if they had any tights in stock. Sure enough they had some Novarra tights that felt cozy and fit really well, with good reflective accents and a nice comfortable yoga-type waistband to boot. And they were on sale. The waistband is purple but that's okay, it won't be visible under my jackets and jerseys anyway.

[north woods gal]

Crazy weather! Almost an inch of RAIN??? last night, so my trails are almost back to snow free and normal to ride. Hit them hard, right after breakfast. Then more RAIN??? this afternoon. Not complaining, mind you, because it is nice to have my trails back to where I can climb those steeps and make those tricky maneuvers. Makes me a bit nervous, though, because this is definitely not the norm for late November, this far north.

[ny biker]

Must have been pretty muddy!

That rain is heading our way. My usual Wednesday night ride will be rained out. I'm not sure yet if I will try to do it on Thursday or if I will just hit the gym for some indoor cardio.

[Crankin]

Yeah, we are getting almost 3 days of that. Other than wondering if the supposed window of dryness for Wednesday's ride will be true, or if there will be ice at 5:30 AM tomorrow when I go to spin class, it's not annoying me at all :(. I called it wrong last Wednesday, when it was absolutely freezing when I got up and it looked like the real feel temperature would be much less than the actual temperature, so I didn't go on the ride. Of course, when I got out of my class at the gym, it was cold, but bright sun, and no wind. It would have been fine.
This is actually making me wish for snow, so I am no longer in this in between season!

[Crankin]

So, the ride was cancelled (damp, rained all night, will be starting again anytime between 11 and 1) and I am glad I signed up for spin. So, I will hold my nose and ignore the "housewife" group who attends the 9:30 am class. OK, some of them are retirees or part timers like me, but all I know is that the conversation remains the same as it was in 2002. Only, instead of worrying about their kids driving, now they are going on endlessly about their grad school, marriage, and careers.
Sigh.

[north woods gal]

NY, actually only muddy in a few low swampy and boggy areas. Our thin topsoils lay on top of sand, so moisture sinks in, quick, and only collects in specific areas. Even after heavy rains, most of our trails stay open. Bikes actually stay pretty clean as long as I avoid the few loops though the swamps.

Speaking of trails, they are now snow free - odd for being almost December, but nice. More snow on the way, though, so did 7 plus miles of trail work, today, concentrating on a lot of repetitions on the steep climbs because it's the steep climbs that get closed down, first, with snow. Legs very rubbery, afterwards, but in a good way.