2 July Ride Reports

[Selkie]

The good: traffic was light although there were more people out at the crack of dawn then usual. The trail was pretty much clear of the flood debris from last week, thank goodness. First time testing out my wicked expensive LG shorts---V is right---they are worth the $$$. Since I've decided to do a couple of metric centuries later this year, I figured I'll get good use of them on my longer rides. Saw Mz. Racoon (remember my standoff w/this lass?)---turns out she has several youngsters whom I saw with her. They just finished raiding the community garden when I went by them. The babies are as pretty as mama.

The bad: some cretin broke a big bottle on the trail and I rolled through the glass. It was pre-dawn, so I didn't see it. Dismounted and kicked most of it off the trail so others wouldn't do the same. Made sparks come off my ruby slippers (cleats across the asphalt). Thank goodness, no punctures in my tires. I was able to continue the ride with no further mishaps and get home before the sun really started cooking up the heat.

[Lifesgreat]

Rest day today, but I am hoping to get a short, hilly ride in tomorrow morning. I hope all of you have good rides!

[btchance]

I kinda got lost. Had planned to do a 14 mile ride, then a 3 mile run. Well, my idea to cut over one mile and come back up the next road over before getting back to mine didn't work (well, eventually it did, but not soon enough). Probably added another 8+ onto it, based on how long I was gone. Good news is that those roads are great to ride on. now I just need to find out where they go, so that I won't have any more surprises! Also got chased by a Dobraman as I was going up the only hill in the area. Luckily he quit when I hit the end of his property line.

[Flatlander]

May anyone post a ride on the daily threads?

I rode 30 miles today, with some hill and speedwork mixed in. Now 'm eating a recovery meal and waiting for a repeat of the TdF so I can watch the race.

[winddance]

Rode to the beach again today, with a slight "cool off" detour through a shaded park. My father and I did about 22 miles. I did a lot better with the heat and humidity today, and could've kept going. There was a much better breeze this morning, so we really worked. It's nice to know that the mysterious 360 degree headwind is not just a Bay Area phenomenon...:rolleyes:

Lots of cyclists out today as we were heading in. Now I'm heading out to the pool...

[ACG]

Rode 35 miles with my silly social group thru part of the SGV. The sign on San Marino HS said 101 at about 8:35 a.m. On way back the sign on La Salle HS said 94, not sure. It is hot. I am thinking about taking a shower now.

[hirakukibou]

Rode 48 miles with the club. I was surprised that I had such a strong day since I rode 50 yesterday. I rode my fastest, 15.7 mph average. Had a 229 mile week. Not bad.

[Dogmama]

Flat tire on my way out the door. Changed tube - flatted again (YES I DID look for little nasties in the tire.)

Said screw it (it was getting too hot to mess with it & ride) - I'll go to the gym & lift. Walking out the door & my 14 year old German Shepherd decided to have an accident inside the house. Great. Cleaned it up. Out the door finally! Garage door opener broken.

Is God telling me something?

[Fredwina]

Flatlander, any one can post her rides here.
Mine, I led the slow ride. I only had had other person, but he rode with the fast people until the turn off point. Then he got in a little trouble (something about the 1000 foot ascent back to the start) He managed to bonk in a not so nifty section of Pomona. This may have been my fault, as it's been quite a while since I led "newbie" rides, and I should have pulled and had eat some of my shot blocks. We made in to a nicer neighborhood, took a break, and I let him go on his own when I got to church. After church, I rode back to the parking to make he made it back. No cars, which was a good sign. I ran to some friends who were out riding. Bought my train ticker for the month(ouch!) and came back in before it blazing hot.

[kerrybelle]

I rode my longest ride yet, just over 68 miles. Yipee! Best part is I felt really good afterwords and still do :D I was a little concerned since I did a 12 mile mtn bike ride yesteday with some long climbs and it was HOT today. I averaged 16.3 mph, which I am very happy about.

The interesting thing is, I was able to keep a higher than usual cadence, 90-100 rpm. Normally, I get super tired and have difficulty breathing at the cadence. It was a great day, aside from temperature getting 95 degrees :eek: ! My new polar bottle was awesome today. Too bad I didn't have the opportunity to get ice at any of our rest stops! Some cold water on the way back would have been really nice.

Kerry

[DirtDiva]

No riding today. I spent all of yesterday out in the sun at Wimbledon and I just didn't have much enthusiasm for spending much time out in the heat again today. I did have a good run once it had cooled off a little in the evening. Not speedy, but probably my longest distance ever (a whole 5.8km, according to gmap pedometer :p).

[salsabike]

Oog. Rode a century today on the tandem (still one-day STP training mode). Owie. Several bike maintenance stops, too. Sun was kind of intense in the last 40 miles. Finally remembering pouring-contents-of-water-bottle-over-head trick, which helped a lot. Not as fast as we would like. Still, we did what we set out to do. Lots of bald eagles and herons, gorgeous weather, many fellow STPers out on long rides, some we recognized from last week.

Happily zoning now.

[DebW]

Rode 25 miles with a long stop in the middle to play a round of croquet.

[bikerchick68]

got in 34 miles with some climbing... it was overcast in the AM when we left but heated up quickly... overall a lovely day to be out tho!

[uk elephant]

Terribly hot around here these days, but I did manage to survive a short ride. Did 4.5miles out to a "pick your own" berry farm, ate some delicious fresh berries (oh and picked some to take home too) and then pedaled home again. 9 miles total and managed to get thoroughly overheated and slightly sunburned despite factor 20 sunscreen and a thin longsleeved linen shirt. But a good ride anyway. Not fast, but I was concentrating on cadence and relaxing my shoulders. Seemed to work for a while.

[Denise223]

Hi All!

We went out for what was initially going to be a 19 mile ride -- but, we got lost, so that # increased by 6 miles. It was 92 & muggy out. We'd stopped a couple of times for like 5 minutes & the sun was incredibly HOT! Standing still, I felt as if my skin was burning to a crisp....
I find it amazing that, even at 92 degrees & muggy -- how much cooler it feels when riding & creating my own "fan" :) !!

We just started riding on June 5th & today was our 10th ride since then. Fifteen miles had been our longest ride, until today...... Up until today, I had not gone up any hills (b/c we stayed at the bike path), but I did meet up with a few of them today.
When I initially saw them, I did kind of panic ~ inwardly.... But, it gave me a chance to REALLY learn how my gears worked; I was pedaling much more efficiently -- And, that was GREAT!
It certainly took me longer to get up a few of these hills...but, I did get up them!! (it is so much easier when you learn how things work! :rolleyes: )
And, I wasn't terrified in traffic like I ALWAYS had been :) !! I really hope it stays like that...but, only time will tell.

I did learn that I am DEFINITELY not prepared as much as I should be. My husband wears a back pack, and that's where we keep everything: his cell phone, his car keys, his ID, paper towels, my inhalors, my eye drops, extra water, money, etc.....
I have a large water bottle in my cage. And, I have a couple of paper towels tucked inside my shorts. (if my nose gets runny.) I definitely need to have more water with me --
I was dying for a cold drink during the last few miles -- I'm happy to say that there was a store & I got some cold water -- BUT.... I know that there won't always be a store on our rides....

I'll have to purchase a couple of insulated bottles..... Warm water just isn't refreshing AT ALL!!

In most cases, we do ride close to one another...... not side by side though. We could be separated by 1/8 mile. I have a "fanny pack" that I wore a week or so ago & it really bothered me. I would not want to wear that again, unless I really, really had to. It's just not comfortable at all.

But.......I NEED to be self sufficient. I searched "bike bags & bike racks" here, and saw something that might be perfect for me.
It's an Arkel "tail rider" -->> (I tried to add a link but it wouldn't let me copy).

I realize now that I MUST have "my stuff" with me --
Up until now, we'd been on a bike path -- so, Ben could easily stop if I needed my inhalor or my eye drops or if I needed more water... BUT.... off of the "safety" of the bike path -- I can see that things can (and WILL) be different.

Well, that's my ride report for July 2nd along with some things that I learned along the way....

Denise