Log in

View Full Version : April Rides



Crankin
04-01-2018, 11:17 AM
OK, did another short, slow ride. Wind, oy!!!
Our friends left after a breakfast that didn't start until 9:30 am. It was actually nicer out than I thought it would be, no predicted rain, around 50-55, partly cloudy, but gusts up to 30. DH is suffering greatly from back pain, he has a PT appointment Wednesday. We were riding into the wind for 3/4 of the way, a small part of it on the route that is part of the first ride we will be leading in 4 weeks. We both noted we are in big trouble if we are leading the "faster" group, as our speed was more of the slower group!
We did speed up a little once we turned to be with the wind at our backs. We decided to take a more difficult street home, that parallels the one we usually ride, but, this was so our last mile would not be into the wind.
We didn't go anywhere special, but enjoyed some of the very quiet roads of our old town. A funny thing happened in the last few miles; we had been leap frogging with a young woman, kitted up in PMC gear, as she was stopping a lot, it looked like, to look at directions on her Garmin. We only stopped once, right before we made the decision to do the final climb. We pulled out of a gas station and she passed us, but then a guy clearly commuting zoomed by her. She got pissed until I think she saw what we saw at first; it was an e-bike.
So, 2 18.2 mile rides this weekend.

north woods gal
04-01-2018, 03:41 PM
Another week, another snowstorm. Yup, looks like another one headed our way, come Tuesday. Once in awhile, we get one of our "winters that never end" that take us into May and then we go right to summer. Looks like this will be one. I feel sorry formal our migrating birds coming, through. Normally, they'd be able to find some open ground or open water, by now.

After our earlier 10" snowfall from the recent Saturday storm, headed out on the neighborhood roads with one of the fat bikes for a short ride. Local roads are about 85% clear and dry with only an occasional patch of slush and ice. Better than what I had hoped to get, so that really helped with my depression. Yes, I am suffering from depression due to all this continuing snow and cold. Oh, nothing serious. Just enough to make me a bit grouchy. Not who I am at all.

Did some XC skiing, too, but that is hard, hard work in a fresh 10" of snow, trying to break trail. Probably would have made more sense to use the snowshoes. Really, though, I'd rather just put the skis and snowshoes away and get on with spring. Oh, well.

emily_in_nc
04-02-2018, 12:42 PM
Sorry, NWG. All the snowbirds are leaving our RV park at the moment and heading up to Canada, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, etc, and I see what they are going back into. They say it is much worse than usual for this time of year, and no one seems very excited about heading north, since the weather here in Florida hasn't gotten seriously hot/humid (YET!) I feel so lucky to be staying here.

Haven't ridden in April yet other than a quick cruise around the RV park on the cruiser bike. We chose to do a long walk on Easter instead of ride since we usually avoid the bike paths on weekends. Seemed like everyone but us was at church, so the roads were quiet and peaceful, and the lake so beautiful.

Today I would have ridden normally but had a 10:30 am orthodontist appointment. So I just cruised around the park this afternoon for a bit and will do my usual long ride tomorrow morning. It's finally warm enough that shorts and SS jerseys are all that are needed for morning rides, so I am indeed a happy camper!

north woods gal
04-02-2018, 03:57 PM
Emily, it sounds like you two had a very nice Easter. Good for you. It really is nice to know you're having some mild weather. Makes me feel, better, knowing there is such a thing as nice weather, right, now. :)

I'm trying my best to keep my spirits up, but it's touch and go. For me, the best therapy is always to get out and get physically active, so I started the day with some skiing, but the snow was lousy for skiing, so I switched to snowshoeing. That just felt more like trudging and slogging, today, though. Just not in the mood.

Next, I just grabbed a fat bike and rode around the area paved roads for 10 miles, riding as hard as I could, full out, as much out of frustration as anything. Even deliberately aimed for ice and snow patches, just daring them to stop me. They didn't.

Feeling pretty bold, I next dared myself to try some trail riding in the snow, which was now melting, but still deep. Got only twenty yards, though, fishtailing all the way. Talk about an unforeseen predicament, compliments of all our snow. The fishtailing is something I can handle. I'm good at it. Have even been known to practice it. Crazy me, I now think it's kind of fun.

The problem, now, is that the snow is so high on either side of my narrow trails that it's piled high, up to my thighs, now, when pedaling the bike. I can't even shovel it, because I'm not strong enough to throw the snow over those high walls. It really is like riding down a narrow hallway. Those walls are the problem. As soon as I sideswipe one of the walls of snow on either side of the narrow two-foot wide trail with the rear wheel as I fishtail, it stops my forward progress and I stall out. I could make it and keep going if I had more room via wider trails, but who knew we'd be having such a winter? Just nuts.

Okay, how many bicycle riders have ever had the problem of sideswiping snow walls? :) That's one for the books.

Any, yup, snowing, again as I write this.

emily_in_nc
04-03-2018, 01:13 PM
nwg, Wisconsin was mentioned over and over this morning on The Weather Channel. I am sorry. What ridiculous weather you are having for April, even for there! I am very lucky that I love to read and like to cook, so even in the worst of Wisconsin winters (and we did spend one there once, but only once!) I have plenty to do. You are more outdoorsy than me -- I am very much a fair-weather outdoor child!

I almost hate to say it, but today was absolutely perfect weather here in central Florida. We've had heavy rain around dinner time for two nights running, and today was all cleared out, very pleasant, and the wind, for once, died down to a pleasant light breeze. I, for once, was able to ride with DH for pretty much our entire ride. He'd done over 45 miles yesterday at a fast clip so was doing a recovery ride today, and I had fresh legs after three days with nothing but walking and a few short cruiser bike rides, so that made us perfect partners. I actually achieved my highest average for this route (14.5 mph -- fast for ME) ever. What fun this was!

Also, with most of the snowbirds gone now, only the regulars were on the trail. I recognized about 90% of the cyclists we saw today, and trail traffic was super light. Bliss!

After our ride, we hopped on our cruiser bikes and headed to the RV park pool (the smaller of the two pools here, and the lesser used) and had it all to ourselves. More bliss as we cooled our legs off and back-floated in perfect 80-degree temps.

Life is good. :)

north woods gal
04-03-2018, 01:44 PM
We made the news? Cool. Today was one of our local elections and my husband and I are poll workers. Just a nice thing to do for our little township and we get to meet a lot of our neighbors. Anyway, some of our voters had been down in Texas and Florida for the winter and just got back in town, all nice and tan, to boot. You can imagine some of their comments when they came back to winter. :)

I did try some biking, today, out on the roads, but they hadn't been plowed, so didn't get far trying to peddle though the deep snow. Real work out, but, hey, I get to add another day to my snow riding list, even if it is April.

Crankin
04-03-2018, 04:15 PM
No riding for me, until the weekend. Rain all day tomorrow, with a "line" of severe storms coming through at 4 pm, of course the time I have to go out and drive to see a long term client at his home (I've been with this young man since he was 13 and he's almost 20 now!). So, I'll go to spin/core class in the am and spend the day doing stuff I need to get done. Looks like the weekend will be sunny, but cold. Where did spring go? I heard it might be until the end of next week until it reappears.

emily_in_nc
04-04-2018, 05:00 AM
We made the news? Cool. Today was one of our local elections and my husband and I are poll workers. Just a nice thing to do for our little township and we get to meet a lot of our neighbors. Anyway, some of our voters had been down in Texas and Florida for the winter and just got back in town, all nice and tan, to boot. You can imagine some of their comments when they came back to winter. :)

nwg, there are several folks from Wisconsin in our RV park. I don't know them personally but do see the license plates. So far they have not left to head north, and I can't blame them!

They did mention on the Weather Channel that it was election day there and that some folks might have a difficult time making it to the polls due to the bad weather. Glad you were able to make it for your poll worker job!

north woods gal
04-04-2018, 06:16 AM
nwg, there are several folks from Wisconsin in our RV park. I don't know them personally but do see the license plates. So far they have not left to head north, and I can't blame them!

They did mention on the Weather Channel that it was election day there and that some folks might have a difficult time making it to the polls due to the bad weather. Glad you were able to make it for your poll worker job!

We actually had a good turnout, despite the weather. Our little township is very civic oriented. Good people. To me, that's a must for a place to live.

Spring? What spring? Amen to that. Will spend most of the day shoveling - again - and then maybe more snow, tomorrow. Will be a struggle to get above freezing, al week.

Sheila, I saw that Surly Midnight Special. Would have made it to the top of my list if they had gone Shimano instead SRAM and while being able to go 700x42 on the tire size, still not my idea of a plus bike. Love the color. Be a great pavement and hard surface gravel bike. Would cost an arm and a leg to convert it over to Shimano, though. NO regrets on the ECR. Much better choice for this country, up here.

Now that Bridge Club, though. Hmmm! HereI go, again. :)

north woods gal
04-04-2018, 02:21 PM
I'm lucky that Surly's geometry is generally a good fit. Some brands are not for me.

Sheila, as for stack and reach, don't forget that what you see listed in specs for the Surly's is the frame stack and reach. That's always lower and shorter than what you get after you add in the fork top tube height, stem and handlebar. That's your handlebar stack and reach, the actual stack and reach after you set up the bike with those parts. Changing the stem length and rise, for instance, is a very easy way to change actual stack and reach. Can also do it with the handlebar style. Even going to wider tires can change actual stack. In the end, of course, you can drive yourself crazy studying specs, but it's still no substitute for a test ride. Anyway, just a thought.

Spent the morning cleaning snow off our long driveway. Took a break and a short nap to recover, then grabbed one of the Norco fat bikes with studded tires and checked out the neighborhood roads. They had been plowed, so overall, rideable with the fat bike. Temps right around the freezing point. Some patches were already clean and dry, others were slushy and puddled, some still snow covered and some a touch icy. No problem for the fat bike. Did a bit over 10 miles of laps. That's actually a good workout, given that our area is all hills. No flat runs at all.

Got home and started cleaning the bike, only to discover that the bike was covered with icicles. Temp was just right and I did ride through a lot of open water. A bike covered with icicles is not something you see, everyday. :) Parked the bike in the living room on top of some towels to let the ice melt off.

ny biker
04-05-2018, 09:33 AM
Someone at work was telling me yesterday about his new mountain bike. He's a runner/crossfitter but is having fun on the bike. His parents live someplace cold and snowy and apparently they use a Snowdogg to make trails for fat biking on their property. Of course this made me thing of you, NWG!

As for me, I can't remember the last time I rode my bike. A month ago maybe? I was patient with the cold March weather but now am just really annoyed. It will be another week before we get a warm up. We have the occasional warm day but they are all days when I have to work or have other obligations (like going out of town for Easter).

Yesterday started warm, then got cold and very windy after it rained. There were ominous dark clouds with the rain, the kind you usually see for summer thunderstorms. I'm actually feeling nostalgic for summer thunderstorms, that's how annoyed I am with the cold! Anyway today is mid 40s, sunny and a bit breezy. It feels like a cold breeze on my face but I was comfortable walking out to my car without a coat. So I am going to layer up and attempt a bike ride tonight.

I am staying at an airbnb this week while my condo gets new floors. It's actually in a neighborhood that is on my traditional post-work hill route. I'd like to start the ride from the airbnb instead of my usual ride start (a community center that's farther west), but it's at the bottom of a big hill. I am in such bad shape right now, I need a flatter start. So it's back to the community center for me. I just hope I have all my gear -- it was so hectic packing stuff up before the floor installation began that I could have easily forgotten something. (Yes I brought my bike to the airbnb -- I had no place else to put it while the work is being done. The mountain bike can go out on the balcony but not the road bike.)

north woods gal
04-05-2018, 01:40 PM
Hope you can get out and ride, N.Y. I think we're all feeling the blues with this late spring we're having. I expect late springs, up here, of course, but this winter has been so relentless, not giving an inch. We have more snow on the ground, now, than we had a month, ago, and that was a lot of snow, then.

This is a pic of one of the fat bikes alongside a typical section of my trail, taken this morning, April 5.
https://s18.postimg.org/qja5qadnd/P1090949.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Yes, I'm still trying to keep my main trail sections clear, not so much for riding, now, but for the sake of being able to use them, sooner, when we do get some serious melting. Then, of course, we'll have some serious flooding if things melt too fast. In the meantime, I'm riding out on our roads which get plowed on a regular basis. This year was an experiment to see if I could keep riding trails, all winter, by using the snowblower and the shovel. I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but, honestly, I doubt I'll being doing it, again. Not worth it. Spent more time clearing trails than actually riding them. Next winter, I'll just ride out on our local roads and let the road crews have all the fun clearing snow. :)

emily_in_nc
04-05-2018, 01:43 PM
NY, so glad you are finally getting your new floors installed, and I hope you love them. I know we chatted about about cork and other possibilities, as I'd also been looking into them for our motorhome. We haven't done anything about it yet, as we're not sure how long we'll be RVing, and don't want to spend a lot of $$ if we're not going to do this long-term, but I do get so annoyed at our super shiny laminate floors that get chipped so easily! I try not to look too closely. I hope you love your new floors!

Today's ride surprised me. After some very warm rides lately, a front came through yesterday, bringing chilly northeast breezes, plus lower humidity (not complaining about that!) to central Florida. I couldn't believe that in April I was having to pull on my warm Terry Bolero and my wind vest! I had already packed all that stuff away, and thought I was done with them for the season. I wore wool socks but did not go to leg warmers or tights -- I refuse to do that in Florida in April. Was able to pull off the extra layers part-way through and enjoyed a nice tailwind on the way back, so it felt warmer. Still, only 73 degrees, breezy, and low humidity at the end of our ride made today feel a bit more like February in Florida than April.

I know, I know, I can't complain. No snow, no ice, and by afternoon I'm back to hanging out in shorts and a t-shirt, all our windows open, and feeling fine! I suspect in a month I will wish for days like this.

north woods gal
04-05-2018, 01:47 PM
Emily, will you be staying in Florida over the summer or do you two plan to do your usual traveling? Honestly, after this winter, I'm wondering if we shouldn't do the snowbird thing.

Crankin
04-05-2018, 03:43 PM
Hope you get to ride tonight, NY. It really felt like winter today. Sunny, but so windy and only 40, which felt like 30. Glad I was inside working, but I did have a free hour and since I was feeling a bit off today, I did not walk, as I usually do. I did do my 30 minute recovery yoga DVD this morning, for the first time in many months.
So, another "wintry mix," probably not more than a dusting on the grass tomorrow around noon, but the weekend is looking better. Cold, 45, but sunny. I can do that. Need to get those base miles in. I still have not ridden more than a 25 mile ride so far. On a sad note, our annual AMC Bike Workshop on the 14th was cancelled for the first time in 40 years, due to poor sign up. The Boston chapter has been doing this in Concord for a long time. Somehow, the Worcester (Central MA) chapter cycling committee decided to schedule their workshop in the next town (Sudbury), at half the price, the week after. We work really hard on this, and I am not sure why the other chapter chose a venue that is not even in their service area. It's not far, but the whole thing reeks. On the positive side, DH and I are doing our part of the presentation for the western MA chapter in May. I hope they get people; our friends have been trying to get a cycling committee off of the ground there since they moved. Thankfully, we were tardy in asking our LBS to borrow a couple of bikes for demo, so I don't have to go back there and say forget it.
I need spring, and I am not usually a complainer. It's a combo of rain, snow, and cold at various times that's thwarting me.

emily_in_nc
04-05-2018, 04:43 PM
nwg, that is a gorgeous photo -- all that clean white snow! I would love to ride those beautifully groomed trails if I didn't have to feel the cold! :cool:

emily_in_nc
04-05-2018, 04:46 PM
Emily, will you be staying in Florida over the summer or do you two plan to do your usual traveling? Honestly, after this winter, I'm wondering if we shouldn't do the snowbird thing.

We hope to travel. It all depends on when I get my braces off. We will be taking some side trips in between my orthodontist appointments in the meantime. Need to visit the parents and hope to do some fun travel as well. We missed out on traveling last summer since I had my accident on April 21, so we only made it from Florida to NC and back all year. Itching to range farther this year, and I do hope we get to!

ny biker
04-05-2018, 08:56 PM
NWG, that snow is way too deep!

I felt cold when I left work tonight but it was just shy of 50 degrees so I just stopped thinking about it and rode my bike. Instead I thought about the rides in November and December when I was overdressed because it wasn't really cold. I also went overboard with layers at the start -- vest over my Gore windstopper jacket, Amfib tights, fleecy Gore booties, and a wool neck gaitor for the first time in years. After a few miles I took off the vest and neck gaitor. I had problems with dry eyes, probably from the allergy eye drops, and either my saddle needs to be leveled or I've gained too much weight and my shorts don't fit anymore . Overall it wasn't too cold but I wasn't comfortable for other reasons. So I cut things a bit short, for a total of 12.3 miles. My shortest bike ride in about a year. And probably my slowest.

Despite everything I'm glad I was able to get out and ride. Maybe I can go out again on Sunday.

Crankin
04-06-2018, 03:16 AM
Ha, ha, NY. I have decided my athletic humble bragging on FB would sound something like this:
"What a great ride! I rode 12.5 miles, and felt like sh!t the whole time. My head hurt, my eyes were tearing, and my stomach didn't feel too good, either. My speed was comparable to a mountain climb in Spain, although I was probably dressed right for the weather. But, the wind was blowing with occasional 30 mph gusts and I felt like I was riding into it the whole time."

Really, I am so tired of seeing people say things like "I had such a wonderful run, followed by a tough session on the trainer. My power watts were through the roof and I have been hitting all my numbers perfectly."

north woods gal
04-06-2018, 06:39 AM
Emily. I do hope you can get out and travel, this summer. I always enjoyed those posts of yours about bicycling in all those different places.

Hey, N.Y., you got on the bike and went for a ride. That's what counts. Very few of my winter rides have been 12.5 miles, this year. In fact, quite a few of them have been just long enough to claim I went for a ride. Had to drag my butt to make some of them happen, too. Wonder Woman I am not. :)

Snowing, this morning. Surprise! Surprise! Only an inch to two, though, today. Right, now, I'd settle for a good rainstorm. At least I don't have to break out the shovel after one of those. :)

Crankin
04-06-2018, 09:00 AM
It's snowing. Not sticking, though.
Thank you, all for letting me post my humble brag here. I would regret posting it elsewhere.

rebeccaC
04-06-2018, 10:52 AM
Someone brought homemade cookies and, even better, homemade bagels with cream cheese into work today. They are wonderful, and though it's a tough requirement, I will power through each type; I know my numbers will be perfect in the morning.
...:)

emily...West Coast!!!!!!....more accurately L.A. for awhile :) and then the northern ca and southern or coasts ftw!!!!!

ny...good to read you're doing the flooring and +1 on nwg ...any ride can be a good ride!!!

Crankin
04-07-2018, 02:41 PM
After a day of snow showers and wind, followed by a night of rain, it was 34 this morning :eek:. But, the sun came out around noon. DH brought my car to get the snow tires removed, and then we went to the LBS to spend our $40.00 coupon that we have no idea why we got it. Ended up buying 2 pairs of lightly thermal full fingered gloves which were on sale, so we ended up paying 6.00 for both. Scary thing is, DH and I wore the same size! The fingers were just a teeny long on me, but I have discovered I have "man hands," for petite person.My hands don't look big, but my fingers are long for a small person. After that, we went home, ate lunch, and went for a 16 mile hilly ride. It was really windy and we were heading into it for 3/4 of the ride. But, the sun was out and it was 47-49 out. I feel better today, and at least my average was ok for this time of year.
I really want to ride longer tomorrow, and if DH gives me crap, I will let him go home if his back hurts. His first PT appt went well, so there's hope.

north woods gal
04-07-2018, 04:38 PM
Nice to have company riding in the snow or, at least, after a snow. :)

I do hope all go well for the both of you, health-wise. By the way, my hands are also very much like that. I have very long fingers for the size of my palms. Mom said I should have been a piano player.

I did my best NOT to give in to temptation and remove snow from my trails, but I couldn't help-myself. Ran the snow-blower down the main sections, then rode my fat bike with the most aggressive tires. Still dicey riding, because a snow blower leaves a lot of snow, behind, on a rough and uneven trail surface. It's out of it's element on anything but pavement.

I made it, though, at least far enough (almost two miles, fishtailing, now and then) to say I went riding in, and on, some challenging snow cover. Yippee!

Of course, that wasn't enough, so just rode the fat bike, studded tires and all, for five miles out on the neighborhood paved roads. Definitely feeling the spring fever, I guess, even though it never got above freezing, today. Tame compared to the trail riding, but just felt so good to be out and moving, fast. Right, now, the local roads are 80% dry pavement and 20% snow/ice covered. Not enough snow or ice to even slow down the fat bike. Well, okay, slow and fast are in a different category with a fat bike, compared to other bikes. Had a blast and that's what counts.

I really, really can't wait for some warm weather, all the same. Someone, please, send some.

Crankin
04-08-2018, 02:30 PM
That sounds like a lot of snow!
I didn't ride today, butI'm OK with that. The pollen count was through the roof. DH and I walked to town and had lunch, and by the time I walked back home, my eyes were totally burning.
So, I walked 4 miles, which is OK for me.
We are going to have a few days of 50s- 60s this week. DH will be in CA until Thurs night, so I will probably commute a couple days and take the longer way home, do the club ride on Wed., and then ride Friday afternoon, when it will be close to 70.

north woods gal
04-09-2018, 06:49 AM
Rumor has it that we may get a few days in the 50s, not this week, but next week. :) The rest of this week is our usual 30s stuff. That's okay, as long as we don't get hit with another snowstorm. Have been doing daily rides out on the roads with my hubby joining me for part of the rides. Yeah, it's cold, but it's doable. Looks like mostly road riding for awhile.

Or not. :) After a long hard day of shoveling, my snow trails are back to being in shape to ride, so I rode them like crazy, today. I am such a trail riding addict. Can't help, myself. Did 7 miles of road work, though, just to round things, out.

Saw an otter running though the woods, down by the lake, the other day, sliding though the snow in places. Cool.

Heard and saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans flying overhead. They think it's spring anyway, even if it doesn't look like spring.

No signs of bears, yet and this is the time for them to be coming out of their winter sleep. We are having a very late spring, though. Not much for them to eat with all this heavy snow cover. That could be a problem if they hang around houses, more, to find something to eat.

emily_in_nc
04-10-2018, 04:22 AM
Have not ridden since Friday. We don't normally ride on weekends due to the bike trail being too clogged. Yesterday I had an orthodontist appointment, and today is going to be off and on rain & t-storms all day (mostly on). Bah humbug!

Crankin
04-10-2018, 12:34 PM
As DH is saying, it is now January 127th.
Raw and drizzly today; I left work early as my last 2 people cancelled; normally I'd be out riding or taking a walk, at the least.
Tomorrow is the group ride. We are on a warming trend, but the ride starts at 10, usually over around 1:00.I've done this ride before, it's good. So, it will be 38 at the start and about 42 near the end. Of course it will be close to 50 and sunnier in the late afternoon.
I know I will make myself go, andI probably will feel like I am dying, since it's 35 miles and I have not ridden more than 20 at a time the last few weeks. There's only one real climb and one small one. Hoping some of the regulars are there, since if it's only the hard core riders who ride through the winter, they will already be fast. There's always slower people than me in this group, but with the weather so far, I am venturing some have not even been out on their bikes yet.

north woods gal
04-10-2018, 12:46 PM
I'm still riding, but, okay, I'm sure that's no big surprise to anyone. I'm hurting, though, same as some of you with this lack of spring weather. Our snow cover is still so deep that our area high schools have had to travel a couple hundred miles, south, just to practice spring sports. On top of all that, we're expecting another big snowstorm, possibly the biggest of all, over the weekend. I'm now riding when and where I can as much to combat depression as for fun.

Good time to tweak some bikes, so have been changing out handlebars, grips and tires on the summer some bikes to take my mind off things. Oh, well.

Crankin
04-11-2018, 03:53 AM
Right now it's foggy and 30 degrees. The weather people are saying "be careful of black ice." Now, it's going to be 39, in 2 hours, when the ride starts, but these conditions are what got my friend a broken hip. And, the ride starts very close to where his crash happened (I know, just coincidence). It will be much nicer, after lunch, close to 50. Am I crazy to be worried?

emily_in_nc
04-11-2018, 05:18 AM
How did it go, Crankin? I can't imagine riding in those conditions and am very glad I don't have to contemplate it.

We had t-storms with heavy rain on and off the night before last, yesterday, and last night. Roads are wet. It is finally sunny this am but cool, with a north wind. I am feeling wimpy so am not sure I want to ride on wet roads, even. Trying to motivate myself but may stay off the roads one more day and do much-needed laundry. Could not do it yesterday as planned as all the washers in the RV park were on the fritz due to a water issue. They are fine now, and I have a lot of laundry to do. Tomorrow and Friday are going to be warm again and sunny, so I'll definitely ride then but just not sure about today.

Even in Florida, it seems that this winter goes on and on...I really feel for you gals up north.

Crankin
04-11-2018, 06:00 AM
I decided not to go; it is just starting to not be foggy and I know when the dew point is high and the temperature just above freezing, that's when black ice happens. It will be 40 at 11, so I am planning to do the ride DH and I are going to lead on the 28th. If I ride from home, do the ride, and go home, it's about 30 miles. It's all in the local area, so I can bail if I get wimpy or hungry. There's also food options near the end of the ride, in case I can't make it home without lunch. I ate a big breakfast,in anticipation of riding, so I probably an get by with just eating my Lara Bar.
Weather is going to be wacky over the next few days. I may commute tomorrow, but I could get wet on the way home. I am hoping for Friday to be a car free day, except for grocery store, which I can't do with the bikes I have now, or until they build the bike bridge over the highway, to get to my preferred store. I plan to ride to the gym early AM, ride home, and then ride to work for my group, then do a ride in the afternoon with DH. DH and I will ride early Saturday, as a front is coming through and my granddaughter is getting dropped off here at 12:30 for a few hours.

north woods gal
04-11-2018, 06:30 AM
Sorry for not being clear on our late spring, Crankin. No, not hurting, physically, not in any way. In fact, still doing my usual daily riding and feel great, physically. Will be going into summer (if it ever gets, here) in great riding shape. Just hurting, mentally, for lack of being able to see any green grass or anything but snow on the ground. I just need to be patient.

Crankin, you are spot on not to ride under those foggy and ice conditions. I've had to do it at times when I was commuting and had no other options, but no way would I do it, otherwise.

Speaking of snow, my trail riding on my snow covered trails has actually been pretty good after getting them cleared after that last snowfall. Haven't had much melting, since, so the packed snow base hasn't turned to ice, yet. That won't last long, with temps supposed to get into the 40s, today and some rain, tonight. That's, okay, because our local paved roads are all dry and clear, now. With another big storm coming, soon, that won't last long, either, but I've found the best way to handle this relentless winter thing is just to take it one day at a time and ride where I can. Let tomorrow, as they say, take care of itself.

north woods gal
04-11-2018, 07:09 AM
As I mentioned, earlier, I'm in the process of tuning and changing some things on the bikes to take my mind of our endless winter. Here's a few.

One thing that has really helped is changing from standard straight bars on some of the MTB/fat bikes, to bars that have a little sway or bend back. With my short arms I've always had reach problems with standard flat bars on MTBs. Changing to bars with some sweep back towards me, the rider, has been a great change in comfort and handling for me. Why I didn't do it, sooner, I don't know.

Getting the degree of bend for the particular bike and the way it's used is a little tricky. I've found that for very technical trail riding, too much of a bend makes for slower handling, so there is such a thing as too much bend/sweep for that kind of riding. For road work with flat bar bikes, though, a lot of bend works just fine.

Another one I've been playing with is the type of seat I'm using on the fat bikes that I'm strictly using for snow work. Now, don't laugh, but I've found that ditching the skinny and racy unisex factory 5" wide saddles for a big fat and wide and cushy 7" wide old lady saddle that I had laying around, is a good thing on a snow bike.

The problem with snow riding is often getting up on the bike and started when riding in the snow. If the snow has any depth, at all, the bike has no roll to it. When you stop pushing to get up and mounted, the bike stops. That means you have only an instant to be up on the saddle and hitting the pedals, hard, to get rolling via the pedals. If you're off in hitting the saddle with your butt square and perfect, you don't get enough force on the pedals to break though the snow and start rolling. (Imagine having to start from a dead stop in something like loose sand.) Standing on the pedals is not an option, either. That only results in the rear wheel spinning under you in the snow for lack of weight on the seat. What that big wide saddle does is give my butt an extra large target, plus a lot of pedal-turning leverage when I hit the seat, for that fraction of second or so that you get to be rolling. And, okay, they are comfy. Just don't tell anyone that I've gone old lady with my saddles. :)

Anyway, it's always amazed me how changing little things on any bike can change comfort and efficiency. Kind of fun, too, experimenting to see what works best. Anyone else have little tricks to share?

Crankin
04-11-2018, 10:41 AM
I can see how those saddles would help in your particular situation, but otherwise, I see them as instruments of torture!
So, I rode 22 miles and it was all suffering. I am chalking it up to not sleeping well last night and allergies. The bigger hill on the ride we are leading was OK, I mean it's hard, but I was going a speed OK for the beginning of the season. It's everything else! Every little rise or roller and some the flats felt hard. After the big hill, there's a nice downhill, where I could have headed straight home, but I did the next part of the ride, through a development, with a hill that always puts the hurt on people when we lead. At times, as sweep,I've had to go ahead, so as not to crash into a rider. That's not going to happen in 2 weeks, unless I am feeling exceptionally strong. I then pushed it, to get to the next downhill and after that, went off of the route and headed toward home.
It was really nice out, sunny, no wind, and about 45. One guy passed me and when I looked down at my speed, I was going 13.5 in a place where it's usually 15-18 :eek:. That's the problem with riding on roads that you know so well. I did wear the new gloves I bought Saturday, and they were good, when I thought I might be cold. So, it was smart to not go on the group ride, although the weather was ok by 10;I never could have kept up.
Debating whether to ride to work tomorrow. There's a 45% chance rain at 5 when I leave. I can stand it for 2.5 miles, but, I may just take a walk when I have a break.

emily_in_nc
04-11-2018, 01:19 PM
LOL...Crankin, we really were separated at birth: I bought new bike gloves Saturday too! It was my birthday, actually, so these were a part of my gift from my DH. I got these two t-shirts too -- at the LBS! Check them out (along with the gloves in this photo):

18333

I like an LBS buyer with a sense of humor. :D

I did end up riding today. If I were single or had a DH that didn't ride, I am sure I would have bailed with the north wind, but I felt too guilty when I saw DH getting his stuff ready. We waited until 10:30 to head out, and it was chilly at the start (60 degrees...I know, we're wimps!) with the north wind. I had on leg warmers, arm warmers, and my wind jacket, all of which I thought I was done with for the season.

An hour in, I peeled off all the extra pieces, and after a few minutes of feeling chilly, I was fine the rest of the ride. We had a headwind the whole way out, and I was slow as mud (averaged 12.9 mph), but once we made the turn and had a nice tailwind on the way home, I ended up with a 13.5 average overall. Not my best, but given the wind, I'll take it. 35.7 miles in total, and I ended up glad I did it after all. Thanks to DH, who keeps me honest.

I got the laundry done when we got back and managed to grab lunch while the clothes were drying -- at 3pm! :eek:

Crankin
04-11-2018, 01:34 PM
I *need* those t shirts. What brand are they?
Ha, my average was lower, but I have deduced I just am tired. DH is away and I stayed up reading way too late last night. I hate it that I need so much more rest now.
I keep DH honest with how often we ride, but he keeps me honest with the speed. Today was an example; I rarely ride more than 15 miles alone anymore, mostly only early AM rides, so it was an accomplishment to me.
We have a busy weekend coming up and no totally free weekends until May 12. All good stuff, though. Let's just pray to the weather gods.

north woods gal
04-11-2018, 02:59 PM
... Let's just pray to the weather gods.

Sounds good to me. Add mine to the total.

As for those seats, Crankin, not to worry. I have so many layers of leggings/long underwear/bike shorts when I ride in the winter that I have plenty of padding. :)

Can you believe it? Temp hit 50 degrees, today. I swear, I could actually see the snow melting. Okay, maybe not, but a lot of my trails are now mud where they were ice and snow, yesterday. rain, tonight, so maybe more melting. Then it's snow and more snow for the weekend. Oh, well.

Worked on my 2008 year Trek 8000 26" MTB, this morning. Got it tuned up and took it out for a spin on the pavement. Almost forgot what a completely different animal those skinny 26x2" tire MTBs are than the fat bikes. Lots of fun to be able to accelerate so rapidly and turn on a dime. Really enjoyed the ride. I've come close to selling this bike, several times, but I am so glad I didn't. It has lots of sentimental value for me, not to mention I did a lot of upgrades on it. I really do think it's a shame so many brands are no longer carrying 26" wheel MTBs.

Trek 8000 with Norco fat bike for comparison.
https://s18.postimg.cc/4tot3cdnd/P1080831.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

emily_in_nc
04-12-2018, 04:17 AM
I *need* those t shirts. What brand are they?


Next Level Apparel. I bet you can find them online, The pink one was half price because only Smalls were left. :cool: They do run quite small, though. I had to get a Medium in the purple one with the round neck, to fit my shoulders. I normally wear an XS or 2P in most tops, so just be advised. I was able to get by with a Small in the pink one as the v-neck widened the shoulders a bit.

Crankin
04-12-2018, 08:06 AM
Thanks!

rebeccaC
04-12-2018, 05:23 PM
some spring riding for all still having bad weather...

Alex was traveling for a conference so I decided to do some solo rides on Santa Ynez valley roads and Figueroa mountain road last weekend. It’s just a 90+ min drive to Los Olivos and a wonderful small hotel which has a great spa too. Spent last Sat. riding Figueroa which still has some winter road damage and that made for only two cars on the ride. There were a number of other riders though which led to some good interactions…met an interesting woman who lives in the area. She liked my homemade energy bars and we had a good talk where we stopped at the top. I was stopping for photography so we said goodbye on the descent. It was slower climbs and especially descents because of road conditions but the views were worth it, especially in contemplative meditation value.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/881/40705609364_6d346aa7a0_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2521Tv7)


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/806/40705635494_276fb30d34_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25222gC)


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/901/41377400312_c9c7deb1ca_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/263nZxE)


she’s ‘cloud hidden whereabouts unknown’….
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/790/40524173625_19f4423a5d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24JYYYH)


and one of the most beautiful descents I’ve done
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/879/40705634324_df42e59761_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25221Vs)



Then on Sunday Foxen Canyon road for a relaxing ride on the valley floor through farm country. The area is becoming more popular with cyclists because of the beauty and the variation of the kinds of rides you can do on less traveled roads.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/786/41377295862_1e5b60bfe5_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/263nsuN)


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/879/41377318722_f5990c6756_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/263nzhW)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/883/41377294222_3fb42cf990_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/263ns1w)


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/803/41377296312_854d987f8a_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/263nsCy)

emily_in_nc
04-13-2018, 05:10 AM
Wow, what gorgeous terrain, but so mountainous -- I would die. Love the valley rides, though. How lovely to see empty roads from down here in crowded central Florida. Thanks for posting these beautiful images, Rebecca!

north woods gal
04-13-2018, 07:32 AM
Makes me want to pack up and come out there for a ride, Rebecca. You are truly fortunate to live in such a beautiful area and, as always, your photography is stunning. That-you, so much. I will carry those images with me for the next few days. Really helps.

Emily, come on up for a visit, this summer, if you want to avoid crowds. Hundreds of miles of paved roads though beautiful north woods with very little traffic. Mostly rolling hills, but nothing extreme. Our hottest days are in the 80s. You'll more likely see deer than another bicyclist, maybe even a bear. :)

As for us, one more day of riding, today, but then the big storm, now called Winter Storm Xanto, hits, though no certainty, at this point, how much snow we'll get, though it could be over a foot.

rebeccaC
04-13-2018, 11:22 AM
thanks all. I do indeed feel blessed to live where i do. Emily...happy belated birthday wishes!!!!!....and there are some really nice RV parks in that area too for your west coast trip :)
...and Sheila/nwg...you were both on my mind on parts of the ride so you were both kinda there too :) and...we do have a spacious guest en suite bedroom!!!!!

ny biker
04-13-2018, 11:24 AM
We've gone from gray 40s on Monday to sunny, breezy 70s and 80s on Thursday and Friday. I rode last night after work. It was 73 when I started and 72 when I returned. I started out in tights, vest and arm warmers because the breeze felt very cool, but within a few miles was cramming the extra layers in my handlebar bag and riding in shorts and short sleeves. The breeze did have me concerned and thinking that maybe I should have ridden the night before when it was in the 50s. But luckily my route was mostly sheltered enough for me to completely forget about it until after I got home and needed a jacket while unloading the car.

As for that route -- I did my old hill ride, for the first time in about a year I think. I was very slow, even on the flatter roads near the end, but was able to get up all the hills without too much burning in my quads. One negative was that I'm still having issues with chafing from my shorts. Unfortunately I think it is because my shorts are tighter than they should be due to weight gain over the past few months. Getting back to regular riding should help to lose a few pounds, so I'm hoping this is is a temporary condition. (Okay really I must do more than hope! I'm making progress cutting out the afternoon and evening snacks, too. And sometimes I go crazy with "healthy snacks" like dried fruit so I have stopped buying those foods. I swear I am addicted to dried cranberries so it's not easy...)

Tomorrow we're in for another 80 degree day so I'm planning a club ride. It will be longer than I'm really ready for but I will be content to just ride slowly and appreciate all the trees that have begun to flower.

Crankin
04-13-2018, 11:53 AM
So the warm-is weather arrived, but it's not really gorgeous out. It was 48 when I rode to the gym at 5:15 am for my class, not the 53 as predicted. But it had rained around dinner time last night, so it still had a warmish, humid feeling. When I left the gym, it felt colder, and it was 47 when I got home at 6:45. By then, it was sunny. I debated if I would ride to the office, as that point DH was going to come home and ride in the afternoon. But, I did ride, wearing a new cycling dress I got at Terry, for 40% off. It's awesome, and I paired it with my commuter/spin knickers, a bolero, and a vest for the ride in.It's not a Terry brand, and is beautifully made. By then, it was partly cloudy, still a little cool feeling, though 57 degrees. Got to work, did a quick take off the knickers and exchange for underwear, and did my women's group. It was cloudier and 60 when I went home. I decided to ride home a longer way, as I was feeling like I didn't want to go out again, andI suspected DH might get delayed. So, I ended up with 11.5 miles of utility cycling and I was glad I made the choice, because DH didn't get home until 3:30.
The high temperature was 69, but it still felt cool out, due to lack of sun.
Going out in the AM, for a real ride, before the cold front comes in and then a few hours of babysitting my granddaughter, before going out for Mexican food tomorrow night.

emily_in_nc
04-14-2018, 04:50 AM
I thought I'd posted this here, but apparently not.

I wrenched my back on my last ride, Thursday. :( I was coming up a small rise I've ridden 100s of times, at the end of our usual route, when I felt something pull hard in my lower right back. Fortunately, we were two miles from home at that point, so I didn't have far to go in pain. It hurt pretty bad the rest of that day, especially when bending over at the waist and rising from a seated to standing position. Did not ride with DH (who is usually the one with back issues, not me!) yesterday as a result. :(

It's getting better day by day but still making itself known. I won't attempt to ride for a few days since it's the weekend (very busy on the bike path), and we are leaving Monday and driving the motorhome north for a week at a state park in the Florida panhandle -- finally get to see the beach! I hope to do some casual rides there, as there's a bike path, but I will let the back be my guide. At least it will be flat -- and walking doesn't seem to bother it, so I can walk on the beach. :)

north woods gal
04-14-2018, 07:57 AM
Emily, so sorry to hear about the back thing. Been there with my bicycling. Sometimes these things just come out of nowhere and you're left wondering why. That's the frustrating part. In one instance, for me, it was a nerve that was getting pinched from all my miles from riding in one position on the road bike, day after day. The repetitive stress kind of thing. Anyway, hope you're feeling better, soon.

Well, the big storm is about to hit us, this afternoon. All kinds of storm warnings for over a foot of snow, high winds, blizzard conditions and so on. Keep wondering, where's April? Going to try riding the fat bike on the trail while I can. Might be weeks - again - before I can.

Did change out the tires on the Krampus 29 plus, yesterday. The stock Dirt Wizard 29x3s are a very aggressive trail tire with heavy lugs for riding in mud and soft dirt, but are pretty clumsy and slow for road work. When I ride trails that are soft and/or muddy, I'll use my fat bike, instead. The wider tires on the fat bikes don't chew up soft trails as bad. Might not sound like a big deal to some, but I really HATE damaging a trail, mine or any others.

Anyway, replaced the Dirt Wizards with a new set of the Maxxis Chronicle 29x3s which have a much better all purpose tread. Road the Chronicles on pavement, yesterday, and was very pleased at how nice they ride, then rode some mud and sand trails and they did fine on those, too. On plus and fat bikes, tires make such a big difference in handling and performance, even more so than on the skinny bikes. With the big tires, you have a lot more contact with the ground.

Crankin
04-14-2018, 09:16 AM
I hope your back is better, Emily. It was around this time last year I had my acute episode, but so far, the stretches the PT prescribed are keeping it at bay. My job makes it worse, from sitting; I try to get up in between clients and I've been known to shut my door to use the foam roller, but it's making me think I may quit sooner than later!
So the weather people have been correct. DH and I went out to ride at 9:15, it was already 55 and sunny, but it was breezy. We decided to "just ride" and not follow a GPS route. So we ended up doing 26.5 miles, plenty of climbing, though not the one we thought we might do. The biggest one is a long slog over 2 highways. It's the last thing we do at the end of a very hard 50 mile ride, with about 3K ft. of climbing. It didn't feel that bad today, but it is longer than most of the short steep climbs we encounter. We were about 7-8 miles from home, when it clouded over. It had gone up to 58 degrees, was back down to 55. It felt cold! Next comes the icy rain and sleet overnight and tomorrow. Lovely.
I felt much better today than my ride Wednesday. I think it was allergies and no sleep. Speed was better, not where I want it to be, but we did climb a lot. Tons of riders out. We saw the front 2 riders in a large group get pulled over by the policeman Littleton. God knows what they did. I suspect something funky either in an kind of weird intersection near there, or something going down Oak Hill.

rebeccaC
04-14-2018, 04:41 PM
hoping everything heals quickly emily!!!

Alex isn't back until tomorrow night so i've been spending more time working this past week including today....so just commutes and shopping rides for me. Tomorrow I'll just do a ride into downtown for some photography. It's been in the 70's here at the beach and reaching into the 80's inland

Catrin
04-14-2018, 06:14 PM
Oh my, feel better soon Emily! Hopefully some rest and a bit of heat will set you right. Enjoy your beach walking - and riding!

emily_in_nc
04-15-2018, 05:10 AM
Thanks, friends! My back is SO much better. By last night I barely noticed it, and this morning, not at all, other than the usual morning slight stiffness. I am going to the gym in a bit and will do a gentle workout. If anything hurts, I'll not do that. :)

NWG, been thinking of you with the awful storm. I just can't believe that kind of storm is still hitting in April.

We are due to get 20-30 mph winds and t-storms today. We'll be getting our site ready to leave (tomorrow morning), moving plants under the picnic table, stuff like that, and glad we hadn't planned to ride today anyway! It's still supposed to be breezy tomorrow and will hurt our gas mileage as we'll have a headwind on our drive to the Panhandle, but at least it should be calmer than today -- so glad we aren't leaving today.

Crankin
04-15-2018, 06:30 AM
It's definitely January 127th. Stepped outside to get the newspaper and the biting wind hit me in the face. The icy rain hasn't started yet, though.
I did a 30 minute yoga DVD earlier, and I think that will be the exercise for the day.
Emily, I went on the website for that t shirt company, and there was nothing like the ones you bought. They do a lot of custom orders, so I suspect yours may have been part of one of those.
Have fun on your trip!
North Woods, hope all is well in the storm.

north woods gal
04-15-2018, 09:13 AM
Woke up, this morning to 8" of snow and that's only half of what we're forecast to get by the time the storm leaves, come morning. Had a great ride on our trails, yesterday, before the storm hit, one of my best of the winter, even if it was mid-April.

I finally did it. After all my best efforts not to ride indoors on the trainer, all winter long, I threw in the towel, yesterday afternoon and set up my old vintage Kona MTB on the trainer. Again, just when I thought I had made it an entire winter without any indoor riding, April decides it's a winter month. In fact, we've had more snow in April, this year, than any other winter month. Go figure.

Still, I am able to ride, if only on the trainer, so ride I will.

ny biker
04-15-2018, 09:35 AM
Talk about contrast. I follow National Weather Service twitter accounts for Chicago and Omaha, due to having family in those areas. I also follow local meteorologists who were sharing news from Minnesota. All day yesterday it was snow, blizzard, slippery, ice, white out, and more than one "uffda." But here it was sunny with a high of 86.

I led a 39 mile ride between the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The forecast near the bay was 70, but it was much warmer than that. It was a bit breezy, but that was actually a good thing because it provided relief from the heat. Some trees are already losing their flowers, some are blooming and some still bare with just a hint of green buds. But none have leaves yet so there was no shade. A couple of riders in the group were slow due to mechanical issues and needing to avoid aggravating injuries, so I stopped often to wait for them to catch up. The result was a long day in the hot sun with no breaks in the shade. I was glad that it was not cold, but could have done without the headache that developed near the end. One good thing about riding slowly and frequent stops was that my legs did not feel worn out despite my lack of fitness.

I still had some saddle/chamois problems, and thought about tightening the tension on the saddle. Then I realized that when I tightened it recently to resolve the sharp peak that developed at the back, I also removed all the sway from the center. So I loosened it a bit, and I think that helped.

Now we have a "back door cold front," which is a front from the east. Since the Atlantic Ocean is east of us, that always mean cold, damp, gray and periods of rain. We're expecting the heaviest rain tonight into the morning rush hour. ( And thanks to major roadwork starting this weekend on the highway I take to work, traffic tomorrow morning will be a double-disaster, but I digress.) So today is a day to get things done indoors. I think the weather will improve in a few days so I should be able to get in a mid-week ride.

emily_in_nc
04-15-2018, 01:40 PM
Crankin, that's too bad about the t-shirts. I expect you're right. Probably some cool LBS gal came up with those and ordered them custom.

Also, I told my mother about your "January 127th" comment yesterday when we did our once a week Skype call, and she laughed out loud. Much appreciated! :D But sorry you're having to live through it.

We have friends who spend six months each year in St. Paul, MN at their home and six months in Belize, in their oceanfront condo. They leave for MN around the first week in May. I am sure they are very happy for this schedule. Hopefully by May, January will be over! For all of you! :eek:

Crankin
04-15-2018, 05:32 PM
Well, it's not snow here, so while I like snow in the *winter,* not in mid-April. Currently it's light freezing drizzle, but the temperature is going to start going up around 11 pm. So, hopefully, no issues on my early morning drive to the gym. But, it is going to be pouring, I mean pouring all day tomorrow, until after dinner. I cannot imagine the poor people who are running the marathon tomorrow. It will be between 40 and 50, pouring, and windy. Hypothermia, ugh. Just about all of the Patriot's Day festivities have been cancelled; the battle re-enactments at the North Bridge and Lexington Common, the parade in Concord, and several Minutemen companies are not marching to the bridge, since there's nothing happening. In 28 years, I've never seen this, nor do I remember this as a kid. Oh, and the Red Sox game is cancelled. There's thousands of tourists here for the historical re-enactments, and I guess they will all be shopping!

north woods gal
04-16-2018, 06:38 AM
After a day of digging out, I hit the trainer for a short thirty minute workout. All I had in me after a day of shoveling snow, but it still counts as riding in my book. Today will be much the same, since more snow, overnight. Here's a pic of our patio table with 13" of accumulated snow from this last storm. Looking ahead, we may actually hit 50 degrees by Sunday, so that's something.

https://s18.postimg.cc/gt8kzskt5/P1090952.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Crankin
04-16-2018, 07:16 AM
Impressive, looks like February!
Just got back from doing a few errands; it is frightful out there, pouring rain, being driven right in your face by 30 mph winds from the NE, the cold direction. What a waste of my holiday. At least if it was snow,I could ski or snow shoe. Went to my regular 5:30 am class at the gym, despite it being a holiday here. Probably should have planned to do something later in the day, instead. So far, all of my attempts at making plans have not worked, and DH is leaving for NJ for 3 days, after lunch.
Oh well, things look good for the weekend.

Pax
04-16-2018, 07:16 PM
Got the bikes ready last weekend, all set to go riding... and it's 27 degrees and snowing. Went swimming instead.

emily_in_nc
04-17-2018, 04:02 AM
Crazy...I didn't realize it was any kind of holiday, but I did see some coverage of the Boston Marathon on the news, and it looked miserable!

In the meantime, it's still too cold for my blood in Florida, even. We drove our motorhome up to the panhandle yesterday and are in a lovely state park near the beach. This morning's low was 46. In Florida, in April, really? When I booked these reservations awhile ago, I certainly didn't expect this. Shoulda waited until May. Last year it was HOT in April, though. We're supposed to hit 73 today, and that will feel good, but it's still quite a bit cooler than normal.

I saw an article indicating that most of the US would have below normal temps through April. Maybe May will finally bring springtime? One can dream? :D Stay warm, y'all!

north woods gal
04-17-2018, 06:28 AM
No spring yet, here, but, of course, I have to expect that at this latitude. After spending the morning digging out from this last storm, I checked our local roads to see if they're ridable. They have been plowed, but are still mostly snow and ice-covered. Nevertheless, I was tempted to go for a ride, but just didn't have the energy after hours of work with the shovel. 30 mph wind gusts out of the north and a temp in the mid 20s didn't help, either. Hit the trainer for a good workout and called it good.

As for clearing my trails, I only got thirty feet with the snowblower. The snow is way to deep now for even a snowblower, so will have to let Nature do the clearing for me. Looks like I'm going to be a road warrior for awhile. :)

north woods gal
04-17-2018, 11:49 AM
Did just short of 10 miles of laps on our area paved roads. About half snow packed and half dry, so they should clear up, quick, with some nice weather. Stopped and visited with a neighbor. She told me that the Weather Bureau reports that we officially had 18.8" of snow, making it 100 inches of snow for the winter. That makes it the 3rd snowiest winter on record and only 10" short of the all-time record, a once in a hundred year snowy winter.

That makes me feel a little better, knowing that I probably won't see another winter like this one, but, of course, who knows? Climate change/global warming is throwing all the norms out of whack. Anyway, good to be out and riding. Sure beats staying indoors.

emily_in_nc
04-17-2018, 01:17 PM
We had a fun ride today in the Santa Rosa Beach area of Florida's panhandle. We took a long beach walk in the morning, then got ready to ride out to lunch on the bike path along 30A. Found out when we got a couple miles west of our campground that two miles of the path was currently closed/torn up and being redone, so we had to ride along the highway, no shoulder. That two miles really dragged, as we had a headwind when we headed out, and traffic wa a bit heavier than I would have preferred. Fortunately, once we got through that part, the path picked back up, and we got to the restaurant we'd planned on for fish tacos for lunch on their "Taco Tuesday".

When we arrived and went to lock our bikes, we discovered that we had no lock! DH was supposed to bring it but somehow got distracted at the last minute and forgot it. Fortunately, there are a lot of bike shops along the path, so we backtracked a couple miles, bought a lock, and headed back to the restaurant. Had delicious fish tacos + a beer, then headed back. Riding along the road was not bad at all on the way back, as we had a tailwind, and traffic was lighter since the lunch rush was over.

All in all, a really fun time. Temps were in low 70s with bright sunshine and super low humidity. Hardly feels like Florida, but was very nice indeed, particularly after waking up to 46 degrees this morning. Sunshine warmed things up quickly!

Got in a touch over 18 miles. First time I've ridden my MTB in a long time, and that was fun. The path surface isn't always great, so I decided to ride that instead of the roadie for that reason, and it was a good choice.

Crankin
04-17-2018, 05:16 PM
That sounds like so much fun, Emily. I started researching commuter/in town type bikes yesterday while I was home in the frightful rainstorm. I came across a great review in Bicycling of mostly women's commuter/hybrids/gravel bikes, from cheap to expensive. At least 4 I will checkout. I learned from clicking on some of the links that there are no extra smalls anywhere in the country of the new Trek commuter.
The holiday is Patriot's Day. It's only celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine. Perhaps Connecticut. It's all about the the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Yes, my little town swells with tourists for about 2 weeks, visiting the historical sites, watching the re-enactments, etc. The marathon is always on Patriot's Day. Schools have their spring vacation this week, too.
I seriously do not know how any of those people finished the marathon. I could barely stand going out to do 2 errands in that storm.
I am going to ride with my friend Jack tomorrow, and possibly his wife will come, too.

emily_in_nc
04-17-2018, 05:32 PM
Thanks for explaining about the holiday, Crankin! I figured it was Tax Day, not a holiday in my book. ;-) Spring break here has come and gone at various weeks in March. I'll be interested to hear about your town/commuter bike search. Hope it's not impossible to find a small one! Doesn't make sense that Trek can't make more of a size that is obviously quite popular. :mad:

north woods gal
04-18-2018, 05:58 AM
Emily, nice to hear you got out on the MTB. I used mine as a commuter in my Chicago days for much the same reason. Those Chicago suburb roads on my commute were very rough in places. That, and I had to bike in all kinds of weather since I didn't have a car. Lastly, I found that a good MTB makes for a safer commuter. Gets your head up higher, but also that quick acceleration allowed me to scoot out of the way in a couple of dangerous situations and avoid being hit. Still have the bike and am currently in the process of adding new tires, grips and so on. Hope to ride it, this summer ... if we get a summer, that is. :)

Crankin, you might want to keep an eye open for a used 26" MTB. Lots of them around and they can be had, cheap, cheap, cheap, now that the bike companies have mostly abandoned the 26" wheel for MTBs and gone with the 27.5 (sore spot and pet peeve for me). A lot of bike shops won't even take 26ers in on trades , now, even ones with very high end components. If you need a small bike, the 26" wheels are an ideal wheel size.

Crankin
04-18-2018, 10:13 AM
I don't want a mountain bike; I rode a very nice 26" Voodoo as my first bike in 2000-2002. I just don't like the feeling of riding that geometry on the road. Although, I am still mad at my older son, whom we gave the bike to for commuting, for leaving it in the storage of his apartment when he bought his home. It was DH's first mountain bike, which he was able to set up for someone as small as me, as well as himself and my son, who are 5' 7." I want a "cool" looking commuter, most likely on a hybrid platform. Still not sold on needing disc brakes, although many, if not all of the cheaper ones have them. I am more concerned with the gearing. Not the gear combos, but which group set. I don't want something so cheap it will be a pain and not shift right. It will be fun shopping.
I rode 27.5 miles this morning, with my friend, Jack. He is what most would call a "character," and his riding kit today included screaming turquoise and pink running shorts, over a variety of tights and other things from the 80s. Although the weather people called today the pick of the week, it was windy, partly cloudy, and 45 when we left. We were heading straight into the wind, too. I told him I was enormously slow, so he started off really slowly, but I didn't mind, since I always need more warm up time than most, and the wind... things were fine until we went up a very hard hill in a neighborhood in South Chelmsford. Somehow, I never expect these hills in neighborhoods, not sure why! It did me in ,and after that, I really felt like cr*p and was struggling to keep up on the smaller rollers. But, I persevered, as I had woken up with all of my weird autoimmune symptoms, and it pretty much is something I have to just get through, or I would be at home, on my couch most of the time. With about 10 miles left to go, we stopped and I ate half a bar, which helped immensely. Once we turned on the main road, with 6 miles left to go, the tailwind kicked in, which, thankfully, pushed my average into the barely acceptable range.
I am glad I went, but before I left, 2 annoying things happened. First, there's been a change in the way you get files from a Ride With GPS link, and while I could put the link into my rides folder, I couldn't get it into my Garmin. It didn't matter for this ride, so I went to get ready and the pocket zipper on my wind jacket got stuck, after I had put my phone, money, etc in there. When I got home, I was able to move it enough, to get the stuff out, but it may be trashed, although I am hoping DH can fix it. This zipper has been finicky since day one. I had to bring it to be repaired after the first time I wore it. Hopefully I will have it for the weekend,when we are out in western MA with our friends.

ny biker
04-18-2018, 11:55 AM
A zipper on my large suitcase got stuck that way a couple of weeks ago and I haven't been able to unstick it. Very annoying. I've been trying the "leave it alone and hope it magically comes unstuck" approach.

Today is our best day of the week, in terms of weather. Though it was very cold this morning with freeze warnings overnight, it has warmed up and should be about 60 for a high. Most important for me the forecast temperature is above 50 through the night, as winds change from the south today to north or northwest tomorrow. So I plan to go for a another hill ride and am hoping to be slightly less slow compared to last week.

north woods gal
04-18-2018, 04:41 PM
We were running errands in town this afternoon and stopped at our local sporting goods store, which also carries bike stuff. Got two cell phone holders for the bikes, but we got to gabbing with one of the gals we knew, there, then forgot and walked off without the cell phone holders. They called us when we got home and told us they would hold them. I figured I might as well ride the bike the 5 miles into town to get them as my ride for the day. Grabbed the Pugsley and went for a ride.

Still a lot of slush on the road, but the Pugsley with its fat tires didn't even notice. What I did notice was the terrible roads in our little town (population 7000). After our long, hard winter, some of them are a pothole minefield. Some stretches would have swallowed a road bike. The Pugs, of course, just rolled over them. Really no worse than trail riding over rocks and tree roots. Didn't bother to go around most of them. That sort of take whatever comes your way on a ride and keep on rolling is why my Pugsley has become such a friend. I do have some much more advanced and up to date bikes, but the Pugs would be the last bike I would ever sell.

Crankin
04-19-2018, 03:41 AM
Ha, ha. I like the description of the potholes. We had some so bad a couple of weeks ago, they were more craters than holes. They were filled quite quickly, as it was really dangerous.
DH was able to fix the zipper, but it will need to be approached gingerly. He has the same jacket, but never uses the pocket, choosing to put his stuff in his jersey pockets. I think this is dumb, but perhaps I may have to start using this strategy.
Today is a rest day from all exercise. Tomorrow is bootcamp, and perhaps a little ride or just commute to lunch with a friend. The weather looks fabulous (50s and sun) for our weekend in western MA. Finally. And, next week, in the 60s.

north woods gal
04-19-2018, 06:37 AM
Given that I've been pretty consistent about reporting on our extreme weather, thought I would balance things out and report that we are scheduled for about a week of weather with temps in the 50s. To say I am relieved and happy is an understatement. Still have a LOT of melting to do before I can ride trails, but our paved roads are already open and will only get better with more melting. Don't want to jinx it and say spring is here, but it is getting into late April, after all.

ny biker
04-19-2018, 04:12 PM
I did ride last night, as planned. Averaged speed was about 0.1 mph less slow than last week. So, progress! ;) I did feel better than last week. My quads were pretty tired at the end but that was normal since it was a hill workout.

As noted in the thread I started over in the apparel section, I decided I need a reflective windbreaker for night rides. It was in the high 50s for the whole ride (16 miles and almost two hours including a snack break, from 9:30 pm until almost 11:30). I think it was a bit humid. For the first couple of miles I was a bit underdressed, then was okay during the hilly part -- warm enough going up and chilled on the descents. But in the last few flat miles I was cold. I was wearing a wool long sleeved base layer, short sleeved jersey, fleecy arm warmers and a wind vest. I think if I'd been wearing a windbreaker instead of the arm warmers and vest I would have been unzipping and re-zipping a lot on the hills, but overall would probably have been more comfortable.

emily_in_nc
04-19-2018, 05:18 PM
We are having so much fun riding here at the beach! I had no idea this little stretch of the US even existed in the Florida panhandle, but it is a big deal. Google "30A Florida" if you don't believe me. The bike path isn't ideal, as there are many driveways and road crossings, but it's fun to tool along from beach town to beach town (one in which every building and home is white!), go by several pretty lakes, occasionally catch a peekaboo view of the ocean, and have the ability to stop at little shops, restaurants, bakeries, and a zillion bike shops along the way. You just can't worry about speed, as you have to deal with slow/novice riders, some walkers, construction, and other things that slow you down, but in between, you can zip along pretty well.

I agree with you, nwg, it is a shame about the 26" wheel MTBs going the way of penny farthings. I have really enjoyed riding my MTB these past few days, and just can't imagine riding one with larger wheels at my size. It feels like a big bike anyway, compared to my Bike Friday with 20" wheels, my beach cruiser with 24" wheels, and even my 700c skinny-tired roadie, just because that bike is so much lighter and more streamlined. My MTB shifts very well, accelerates quickly, fits me perfectly, and since it's a full suspension, really smooths out all the bumps and cracks and occasional potholes or gravel areas of the trail. It is really a pleasure to ride, and with a rack (which I have, but not here) and smooth tires makes a fine "town" bike.

Yesterday we managed 27 miles in three rides -- one long and two brief (out to dinner and over to walk on the beach). At our very slow average speed here (10-11ish), that's more time in the saddle than it sounds. Today we took it easy and only put in 11 miles in three rides: one to Publix for some groceries, and again out to dinner and to the beach. We also walked at least 8 miles, mostly on the beach.

We'll probably ride again tomorrow, but not Saturday, as I can only imagine the zoo the path will be that day! That will be a beach walking and dune hiking (there are some trails) day instead, before we head back to central Florida on Sunday.

rebeccaC
04-19-2018, 11:32 PM
Whoa…three posts in a row about improving weather…….glad to hear it. :)

NY…..maybe I missed it but how did the floors come out?

Emily….30A looks like our 26 mile beach path…ours may be less crowded because of its more isolated location right on the beach for the majority of its length but it can also be too busy going through parts of venice and santa monica during the day, especially weekends and summer times. A couple of miles on quiet side streets and alleys can get you through both areas, quicker and easier than riding the path, and then back to a much less crowded path for the final 8 miles north. Here is the part of the bike path that goes by the back of our building and then for 16 miles going south on the least populated part of the path. Most of the path has a separate walking path which does help some.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/821/41533608042_5e86db4ac4_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26hbAEo)


I run 26/1.5's on my urban bianchi commuter and luv them for city riding and not so well paved roads/alleys.
....just commutes for me….a nice rain this morning made it interesting

Crankin
04-20-2018, 04:27 AM
It's sunny!
I just saw a FB post from Prospect Mountain, in southern Vt, the last place I went Nordic skiing. They are *still* completely open and had 4 inches of snow yesterday. The place is at elevation, 2,200 ft, but it's only 8 miles from Bennington, VT. To say that this is most unusual for a nordic ski center to be open on April 20 would be putting it mildly!
Boot camp was really hard today; she tried a new format, so I think I am going to skip riding to my lunch. Of course, if it's really nice when it's time to go, one never knows.

north woods gal
04-20-2018, 06:35 AM
Love the post, Emily, about riding from town to town with all that shopping and things to see along the way. It's one thing we do NOT have in our rural area and one of the things I do miss from my years of bicycling and commuting in more urban areas. I'll always be a country girl at heart, but having bike paths and places to stop and shop made city life bearable for me. I miss it, sometimes. Thanks for the post.

emily_in_nc
04-20-2018, 12:04 PM
Love the post, Emily, about riding from town to town with all that shopping and things to see along the way. It's one thing we do NOT have in our rural area and one of the things I do miss from my years of bicycling and commuting in more urban areas. I'll always be a country girl at heart, but having bike paths and places to stop and shop made city life bearable for me. I miss it, sometimes. Thanks for the post.

You're so welcome! I do enjoy this kind of a setting, but it's not the most ideal for real fitness, since there is more stop/start, slow riding, and of course those stops off for yummy things to eat! But, this is a vacation for us, only a week (minus one day since I have to get back for an orthodontist appointment), so it's not an everyday thing. We'll be back to our longer rides in Winter Garden soon enough!

The path does sound similar to yours, Rebecca (nice pic, btw), and here too, there are ways to bypass the busiest stretches in a couple places; we've discovered one already. We were able to detour off the path and ride through uncrowded neighborhood roads most of the way to a Publix 3 miles away, which was great.

Today has been super busy here as lots of long weekenders have arrived, or just people playing hooky from work for a day, since it's so beautiful out. We haven't ridden yet but are going to take a short ride (an hour or so) in a few minutes -- I'm waiting for DH to get ready. We did do an 8.5 mile beach walk this morning, with a couple of detours off the beach for a healthy lunch AND a donut, so we have gotten some exercise in, but we're missing the bikes too much to stay off them altogether, so a short ride just to enjoy the breeze and the sunshine is in order before wine-thirty and then dinner! :D

Here's our campsite: 18334

I sure will miss this spot!

Crankin
04-21-2018, 04:17 PM
We went out to ride with our friends, into Historic Deerfield, about 12 miles from their house in Western MA. Clear and sunny and it got up to 57. But, a vicious headwind, for the first half of the ride, I could barely get my speed above 11 at a few points. It was about 20 mph, wih sustained gusts. That, plus my hamstrings screaming from yesterday’s boot camp, was demoralizing. Went through a few places I haven’t seen and we did have tailwind for about 8 miles near the end. A 22 mile ride turned into 27.5. It was tough.
Afterwards, we went to the spring wine release event at the winery down the street from our friends house. It’s 8.15 and I am ready for bed.

emily_in_nc
04-21-2018, 05:13 PM
The wine event sounds fun, Crankin!

We ended up riding today after all. We did a loooong beach walk this morning, and DH's achilles started bothering him from stretching too far in the sand, so we walked back on the path along the road. We noticed it was not as busy as we'd have thought for a Saturday, because most people were on the beach, even though it was a mostly cloudy day. So, we headed out around 3:30 pm and rode for an hour. Very nice. We found a spur trail that went 2 miles north and was free of cyclists and walkers, and only one road crossing, so we enjoyed that little bit very much, and even the main trail wasn't super busy. Between that and riding to the beach to walk a bit after dinner, ended up with 15 miles on the day. Not much, but combined with all the walking, still a fairly good fitness day.

We leave tomorrow morning and drive back to the Orlando area. I am sad. :( This beach is so beautiful! I will miss it. This really does feel like going home after a wonderful vacation, something that was always a letdown for us. Even RVing, some spots are like "home" and some like "vacation".

rebeccaC
04-21-2018, 09:30 PM
just a quick 22 miles on the beach bike path to clear my mind from working all day and then a nice dinner out with some of Alex's colleagues.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/893/39807673910_4dcfeff339_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23DEJzm)

Crankin
04-22-2018, 02:36 PM
I didn't take any pictures of my rides this weekend.
Today, we did 32 miles from Whately to Montague MA and back. It was still a little windy this morning, but it died down. Some climbing in the first half of the ride, most of it the kind I don't love, longer shallow grades. Since this is when it was windy, I just dug in. Then we had a steep, shorter climb, which was fine. We got on a bike path for about 3 miles, into Montague, where we stopped in a park at the end of the path. Just as we were leaving, we saw that the street we were headed on was closed and a peloton went by, very quickly. There was a criterium going on. Our alternate was another steep hill, but I was feeling good. Then, on to the Montague Book Mill/Café. It was mobbed, with tons of cyclists and others, so we decided not to wait for food. The ride, overall was beautiful, rural, farms, along the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers, and a canal. Even a waterfall. We ended up stopping at a little pizza/Italian restaurant only open on the weekend, and ate our sandwiches outside. Then we had only 4 miles back to our friends' house.
I felt a shift in my attitude and strength in the second half of the ride. My speed wasn't fast, but it was a good ride. And, it was 64 degrees out.

emily_in_nc
04-22-2018, 04:18 PM
That sounds like an excellent ride, Crankin! I like varied rides like that.

Today we made it back to our "home" RV park in Winter Garden, Florida and stayed ahead of the storms heading into Florida from the west -- Yay! No riding today, and probably not tomorrow either, as rain is in the forecast, and I have my orthodontist appointment. If it happens to hold off, we might get a ride in in the morning. After tomorrow, though, looks like great weather the rest of the week. Riding awaits! :)

north woods gal
04-22-2018, 04:26 PM
Love hearing about all these great rides and pleased everyone is having nice weather, now. We are, too. Been one week of glorious sunny weather with highs in the 50s. Still been mostly riding our paved roads, but have no complaints whatsoever. Loving it. All our local MTB trails, mine included, are now in mud and slush season and while they could be ridden early in the morning after a night of freezing, just no reason to tear them up. I'm using this in between time to tune and get all the summer bikes ready to go. Will probably put the two fat bikes with studded tires in the shed for the summer, now. They served me well for my snow riding. My standard fat bikes will be ready to go by the time the trails are open for summer riding. My other MTBs already are. Come on summer!

emily_in_nc
04-23-2018, 04:22 PM
We are back in our "home" area in central Florida and did a 28-mile ride this morning. It was a bit strange being on the road bike again after riding my MTB for a week, but it didn't take too long to adjust -- having the same saddle on all my bikes helps. Nice tailwind on the way out, plus clouds, though it was quite humid. Head to cross-winds on the way back were a bit tougher, but I still felt pretty good overall. The trail and even roads were light on traffic today, perhaps because it was Monday, or perhaps because so many snowbirds have left the area. :)

north woods gal
04-24-2018, 07:21 AM
Would that be the Clermont area, Emily? That's the area we visited, last time in Florida.

Spring has sprung in our area. Went for a short 15 mile ride on the pavement with the ECR, late afternoon, yesterday. Temp was in the mid-60s. I've been so used to dressing for cold weather that it never occurred to me not to wear leggings. Got out in the sun and then wondered why I didn't wear shorts. Such an abrupt change in only one week. I'm still adjusting to it. Out of habit, I'm still bracing myself for that shock of cold air when I step outside the door. Next week, we may even hit 70.

Very pleased with the Surly ECR as a pavement bike. It's no feather light skinny carbon bike, for sure, but I actually hit an average speed of just over the 13 mph on a 10 mille stretch of gentle hills. That ties my best for average speed on that section with a standard road bike. Pretty amazing for a heavy steel 29 plus bike. Once you get it up to speed, it just wants to stay there with very little effort.

I did notice that the ECR rides stiffer than my Surly Krampus, which is essentially the trail bike version of the ECR. The ECR felt almost like a tri bike in this regard. Not harsh, but not as forgiving on pavement as my other steel bikes. This stiff frame may have helped with the speed, though. I was expecting this kind of ride, based on my research before buying, so no surprise. The ECR frame is designed, specifically, to carry heavy loads. Reports say that it's at its comfy best with a load. It is, after all, a gravel or offload camping bike that can pack enough gear to carry you across a continent. Not sure I'll ever do that, but stiffness notwithstanding, it is a bike I can ride all day. Fits me like a glove, now that I have my Terry Rosie on it. Way cool.

https://s18.postimg.cc/ik2q914bt/P1090963.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Crankin
04-24-2018, 09:11 AM
Glad you felt the warmish air on your face!
So, we've had 3 days of 60+ degree temps. Today may possibly hit 70. But, it's so dry and clear, that it has been in the 30s at night. Yesterday, when I went to the gym, it was 32. Yet, when I went out for a walk at 2, it was 65. Today, I planned to ride in the early AM. I made myself go, despite being 38 degrees and me being in full winter gear, including heated gloves. The only part of me that was cold was my face, though. So, I went out at 5:20 and the sun was already coming up. It was a gorgeous sunrise, but too cold to stop and snap a picture. I only was out for 7.25 miles, about 33 minutes, but that was enough. I could make myself get out, but not stay out to do 13 miles.
The forecast for our ride Saturday is driving me nuts. Right now, looks good, but last night it was 50% chance of rain in the morning (the ride is at 10), with a chance of rain all day. Now it's just a chance spot showers.

emily_in_nc
04-25-2018, 04:47 AM
Would that be the Clermont area, Emily?

Yes, close. We are in Winter Garden, just to the east.

Haven't been able to ride much since we returned because our dog has been sick. We spent hours at an excellent vet here yesterday and found out that she has congestive heart failure. The vet did several things and started her on several meds, and she is much, much better today. We have to go in today for a follow-up check and to get the results of her blood panel.

Bonus: Since we don't have a car, we took her to the vet in a basket on the rear rack of DH's Bike Friday. I rode along on my Trek. She did great! So we'll be doing that again today. It's only 1.7 miles each way door to door, so not much of a ride, but sometimes other things take precedence. I did get a gym workout in yesterday and a couple of walks.

We'll start back on our normal riding schedule tomorrow.

Crankin, hope your weather cooperates for the weekend. They were talking about rain in New England this morning on the Weather Channel.

Crankin
04-25-2018, 10:39 AM
Yes, it's raining today, but this will be gone by tomorrow morning. Still looking good for Saturday, with just a chance of a shower in the AM. The ride is at 10, but I am not worried. Hope your dog is OK!
I went to spin/core class, where I am the only person who actually rides outside. I like the instructor, so I ignore the stupid questions I get asked. Class was good, but since it's so humid out, the room was horribly humid, despite the AC and fans. The core part of the class, thankfully, is in the fitness room, where it was better. And, I got to work on standing from a seated position, no hands. I can actually do it about 90% of the time.

emily_in_nc
04-26-2018, 04:28 PM
After two days of very short utilitarian rides (taking Paisley to the vet -- and yes, she is much better -- meds are amazing!) we finally got back to our usual route today and rode 35.6 miles. Felt good, no aches and pains, perhaps because I hadn't done any long rides for awhile and gave my body a bit of a rest. More tomorrow. Weather is really nice right now: low 60s at night and low 80s during the day. Humidity not bad yet, so it's very tolerable since we're riding in the 70s, my favorite temp for a ride.

rebeccaC
04-26-2018, 07:29 PM
good to hear paisley is better!!!!

It’s been a while since I’ve ridden my fixie, so this week I’ve commuted everyday with it. The different technique and thinking came back quickly and i even pulled off an awesome backwards dismount off the saddle and the back of bike into holding the saddle and walking :) ……anyway it’s fun to switch it up now and then…and this getting later light ftw!!!!!

Rode the bike path south and back for 15 miles total to let the ocean clear my mind and do some good intervals…..

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/826/41687394772_a33de731ec_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/26vLN6J)

Crankin
04-27-2018, 04:10 AM
I decided to keep the riding light today, as we are leading tomorrow. So, since I woke up at 4:30, I rode to my boot camp class at the gym and back home, a Total of 2.6 miles. The sky is now getting light in the east at 5:15, so beautiful.
I was going to ride to work, but, I decided to rest my legs. After work/lunch, going over to my son's to babysit, so he can go to "parents' night" at the Montessori School where my granddaughter is doing a Saturday class for toddlers. I feel old just saying my son is going to parents' night.

north woods gal
04-27-2018, 07:14 AM
Glad to hear you dog is on the mend, Emily. My husband and I would be lost without our two dogs.

Rebecca, I've often toyed with the idea of getting a fixie or single speed. Not that I need another bike, of course, but the idea of the simplicity and durability appeals to me. Would love to hear more about these bikes if anyone cares to share their experiences.

As for me, I've been on ice patrol on our trails for the last three days, breaking up ice with a sledgehammer, then shoveling it off the trails. Fortunately, my trails are about 90% dirt, now, but back in the shade on sections where I packed the snow down hard with my winter riding, very thick 3-4" ice formed when the melting began. Would take another two weeks of warm weather to melt those ice sections, so I decided to take matter into my own hands. Crazy, for sure, as it is very hard labor, but all the trails I rode in the winter are now ice free and, even though muddy, I have been riding them.

As for my summer, only, trails - trails that I could not practically keep open with a snowblower (about a fourth of my trails) - they are still buried under the snow, but parts of them are peeking through. Can't wait to ride them, again, since thy are the trickiest to ride.

Temps got into the 50s, the other day and I rode with shorts. Yipee! First time since last fall. Felt great, after a long winter of wearing heavy leggings. Of course, 50s would feel horribly cold wearing shorts after a summer of riding, but I'm still very winter acclimated, so it it was very comfy.

emily_in_nc
04-27-2018, 12:59 PM
I’m sorry about Paisley, Emily. Moby is also in congestive heart failure. Sounds like she is doing well. Luckily the symptoms can be well-managed with the right meds.

Thank you, Sheila! I didn't know anything about this disease until this week. I have learned a lot. Paisley is "only" 10 (in Feb), so we hope that with meds, she'll still have a good life ahead. She is so so so much better; we can hardly believe it. Miracle meds!

Bike-related content: Since we are car-free, though you all might like to see Paisley's transport taxi to and from the vet (only 1.5 miles from the RV park). She is the best little rider...

18335 18336

Got in another 35+ miler today before our weekend off (walking, markets, gym, etc, and staying off the busy bike path). Rebecca, that bike path looks like a blast!

emily_in_nc
04-27-2018, 01:05 PM
Glad to hear you dog is on the mend, Emily. My husband and I would be lost without our two dogs.
...
Temps got into the 50s, the other day and I rode with shorts. Yipee! First time since last fall. Felt great, after a long winter of wearing heavy leggings. Of course, 50s would feel horribly cold wearing shorts after a summer of riding, but I'm still very winter acclimated, so it it was very comfy.

Thanks, nwg! Since we couldn't have kids, the dogs we have had over the course of our almost 33-year marriage have been like our children. We feel the same as you -- although after Paisley is gone, we are going to take a dog break to facilitate traveling. We've had 1-2 dogs for all but about 2 years of our time together, and they do take a lot of time and money, as you know. We love them dearly, tho.

I know exactly what you mean about the first warm days up north. The one winter we lived in Wisconsin (near Richland Center), the winter was so cold that the first time it hit 50, we were outside in shorts and t-shirts! What a change now that we are acclimated to a Florida climate. We won't even ride until the temps hit upper 50s, and even then, we are bundled up. :D

north woods gal
04-28-2018, 07:42 AM
Love the dog carrier! Cute.

Dogs really are like kids. My hubby and I have both had children from previous marriages and because we are so isolated, up here, we don't get visits very often.

Speaking of dogs, Star, our Border Collie, is in doggie heaven with all this snow melting. It's allowed her to find an unending supply of sticks for me to throw while working on the trail this week. I have to stop my work, frequently, to throw all her new found sticks, but i don't mind a bit. She's my constant companion on trails, whether riding or working on the trails. Wish I could take her on my road riding, but just won't risk it, even with our very light traffic.

"Summer-ized" my two, winter-only fat bikes, yesterday (clean, inspect, lube as needed) and then put them in summer storage. Now turn my attention to my two other Norco fat bikes that I ride mostly in the summer. They'll get the same treatment, but will get ridden, immediately. All the other bikes are already tuned and ready to go. Come on, summer!

Crankin
04-28-2018, 10:53 AM
We had a wonderful 21 mile ride with our group today. The weather was perfect. Only 3 people elected to come with DH and I, the "faster," group; with an average of 13.5, you can imagine what our other 2 leaders had to deal with. But, they were all happy, as we waited the extra half hour for the slower group to come back. There were about 12-13 in the slower group. Unfortunately, one woman should not have been on the ride, but the co-leader of that group(someone who's taken the training class, but hasn't fulfilled the leading requirements) stayed with her until the end. The ride is show and go, unlike the others, where I screen people, so unless we change the format, it's a risk. At least she'll have a good impression of AMC.
It was 70 when we finished. And I felt much better than when I pre-rode most of this ride 2 weeks ago.
Getting ready to meet friends in Boston, for an event at the Museum of Fine Arts and dinner. A good day!

north woods gal
04-28-2018, 05:14 PM
Good day for this gal, too. All trail riding, today, on the fat bike and, best of all, all riding on dirt. No snow! First full ride of the season on nothing but dirt. Okay, some of it was mud and even some of the drier sections are still pretty soft. Made for some hard peddling, but I couldn't be happier. As I rode, smelling the thawing soil and my north woods surroundings of pine, fir and spruce, I was serenaded by a loon calling out on the lake. My wonderful north woods at their best.

emily_in_nc
04-29-2018, 01:49 PM
Glad you both had good rides, Crankin and NWG!

I ended up doing a few miles on my cruiser bike yesterday to downtown and back, and it reinforced my usual ban on riding here on Saturdays. Cars, bikes, people walking everywhere. The downtown farmer's market and other things going on seemingly every Saturday makes it just crazy. And there were a couple of yard sales along the way that brought extra traffic. Looking forward to our usual calm weekday ride tomorrow morning!