oct 12 ride

31 degrees, 12 mph west wind and bright, bright sun :) :) :)
I did have words with a driver... I was cruising down a residential street and this chick in a pickup was coming out of her driveway, payng more attention to the car coming the other way than myself, especially given the parked pickup obscuring the view. I hollered a "Heelloooooo" but Sure enough, she just kept coming and would have plowed into me had I not anticipated it. When she saw me, she lifted a hand in a completely ambiguous acknowledgement gesture. I heard myself say "THank you for not killing me!" in my best "project your voice through the audience" voice... I'm grateful it was that and not something I wouldn't want children to hear, 'cause I'm sure people heard it :rolleyes:
Welp, I've done the same thing once or twice (actually, it's another reason I ride... I don't want to cream anybody), and it wasn't even really close, and I honestly think she'll be more careful tomorrow morning. Gonna have to train my thoughts onto seomthing more positive, though:cool:
ONly saw two other cyclists on the ride in. I wish the chill hadn't come so suddenly; people might have been seduced into gradually riding in conditions a little more challenging.
And I do wish my KEYS would come back! THey're a lot bigger than my wallet, and I know I had them to get back into the house after Tuesday's movie, even if I was all wired and not paying attention... Miss Jones needs to get one of those infrared thingies where you can summon your 8 most loseable items and have t hem beep back at you!

Goenz,
My mom was talking about the Midwest cold spot last night.
Here:
in the 50's, I did my usual hill climbing practice. Felt pretty good until I got to light and saw me speedo. Surprizingly few cars.

If it feels good it IS GOOD. Speedos don't count!

Held yet another debate with myself this afternoon - to ride or not to ride? That was the big question of the day. Finally, after much deliberation I decided to pull the winter riding gear out and brave the cold temperatures which have settled upon the Ohio Valley. The sun had finally come out so it felt a bit warmer but it was still cold in my book. The air temp. was hanging in the low 40's, winds were 15-22 mph and the wind chill was around 38. I got in 16 miles this after and the wind made for a tough ride home. It is suppose to be a bit warmer tomorrow so maybe I can shed a layer or two and enjoy the high pressure system which seems to be coming this way.

Went on my first ride of any distance today with my new clipless peddles. It was great. We only rode 11 miles today, but I had no trouble at all with them. No close calls or anything. I hope it stays that way.

GREAT GOING, DONNA!!!! There is just no stopping you, is there?

Me, I didn't ride yesterday (well, a mile into town and back on errands). This Saturday we are perhaps joining two other couples on a ride and I know they all bike better than me, so I'm trying to keep working up my strength. My longest ride is still 41 miles.
I did 19.8 miles today all through the countryside with lots of little steep hills and graveley roads. Felt good! I want to try to do that same ride tomorrow as well. I like it because it has a lot of riding variety and also beautiful scenery.
On a quiet stretch, I successfully took my water bottle from its cage and drank and put it back all while riding for the first time! Not bad, considering it is a screw off top. (have yet to pick it off the road at 25mph with my teeth, maybe I'll work on that next week)

Today was about 68-70 and by the time I went out to ride, rain was threatening. But, it stayed cloudy and pretty windy. My husband and I did our usual 15.7 mile loop. It was weird; it seemed like there was a tailwind almost the whole time. Although that couldn't be possible, after an initial few miles of feeling like I was never going to stay with my husband, i realized that today was the first ride I've been on in a long time where my quads didn't hurt and I felt pretty good. Average 16.08 (guess that drafting helps)
Saturday we are supposed to go on a group ride that leaves at 9:30 AM. Since the high temp. is supposed to be 55, it is probably going to be in the 30's at the start. Let's see if I wimp out and wait until later in the day to ride.

So I have discovered the joys of riding at o'dark thirty- when NO ONE is out. It's just me and my trusty helmet light.
Well this morning when the alarm chimed at the bright hour of 4:30 I opted to snuggle up to the hubby and ride later. :rolleyes:
Oh was that a BAD BAD decision!! :cool:
I took off a bit after 7. School starts at 7:45 so I thought I could get by the schools before the mom's in SUV's hit the streets. BOY did I mis- judge that. Apparently they take their kids to school REALLY early because the traffic was horrible. :confused:
I get to a 4 way stop by school #1. It's on a hill, so starting off from the stop always takes me a moment more than usual. Well I guess they didn't realize that I have the same rules as a car and pounced when they didn't see me jet at their speed into the intersection. But of course I had STARTED into the intersection, so it was a near miss. Near miss # 1.
Near miss #2 came near school #2. I was coming down a hill and eyed some kids on bmx bikes cross the street. They stopped in the bike lane and had their front tire up on the sidewalk, rear tire in the bike lane. They were chatting with some other kids on the sidewalk. I had a bad feeling about it, so I tried to go wide, but the SUV's were coming on full force now, so I didn't have much room. Sure enough, I get near the kids, one of them looks me square in the eye and then starts to back up into the street right in front of me. Luckily I have some good lungs on me, so I yelled at him to stop, and then scolded him about paying attention to others around him. near miss # 2.
Near miss # 3 came right after that in front of the school. Some girls were waiting to cross the street with their bikes. I looked over at the crossing guard on the other side and she didn't look like she was ready to let them cross, so I kept going. Right as I get near the crosswalk I guess she started to walk into the intersection, so the girls w/ the bikes took that as a cue to cross. Nevermind that I was RIGHT THERE and was going to bash into them. I was going at least 15 mph so there was no way I was going to stop. Again I had to yell at the little girl to stop and make a wild manuever swerving around her. I felt bad, but she really should have seen that I was RIGHT there. I glanced back at the crossing guard to make sure that *I* wasn't the one in the wrong, and sure enough she was just starting to walk into the intersection, so it really wasn't my fault. Just bad timing on both parts I suppose.
So then I get up to the stretch of roads that I do hill repeats on. I forgot that they are doing construction. But I was quickly reminded when I ran into VERY WET pavement. As in , the water truck just dropped a good inch of water on the road. I suppose it was for 'dust suppression" - a big thing out here in the desert. Well it WORKED!! It was now MUD!! I was instantly not only wet, but muddy!! I looked like my husband after a muddy nor cal winter mtn bike ride. My poor drivetrain on my bike was hating life! It sounded like a 10 yr old huffy. :eek:
When I got in the house I snapped some quick pics. You can see them here:

http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...&addtype=local

I then threw on the running shoes and did my mini brick run - 16 whopping minutes. The dirt on my legs then turned to mud streaks as I sweated. UGH!

So the moral of the story is- don't be LAZY! Get yer ASZ out of bed and ride before the world wakes up! It certainly makes for a more peaceful ride!!
SHEESH!!! :D