march 10 rides

I led that club ride. not much to report there, except for the guy that was supposed to lead the fast ride didn't show up.:mad: So I had to to get them squared away. I told my charges on a 21 mile jaunt and then set off to do some hill climbing. Unfortunately, the weather had changed and my route was having 25mph+ wind gusts :rolleyes: I thought about turning back, but decided not to, I pressed on, but I did turn about 5 miles and 1,000 feet before I had plan Coming back was equally as challenging, I was 40-50mph without any difficulty, and the high winds made handling interesting. I stooped by Henry's for some Fair Trade coffee,and got some new tires at REI Before pedaling home

I led the Velo Gals Single Gals ride (although I no longer qualify).

And finally, we had great weather!

In my usual and inimitable fashion I thought I was behind everyone, then got to Portola Rd and most of the group rides up! So they were behind me, how'd that happen.

Usually the lesson I learn from this is "just because you see a cyclist turn does not mean that's your route too." ;-)

I still don't know where I took the detour but it was extra miles. :D Route sheet says 19 miles, my computer said 25. The joke is that the gals stopped for margueritas while I did hill repeats on Old La Hoda.

Oh well, I need 'em for the ride in June and somehow I got back to the Bakery.

DH, MDHillSlug, and I went out on our "French Countryside Loop" - a route through some nice countryside - such as it is in the D.C. Metro area. Still trying to spot bluebirds on that loop. They're rumored to exist, but we have yet to see them.
Must be getting close to Spring, as folks are bringing their fancy rides out of winter hibernation. Saw a screaming yellow Ferrari and a sleek black Bentley cruising the roads.
Was nice to be out on the roads again and not slogging way on rollers. But my legs are not up for hilly rides just yet, and I was was pretty close to bonking by the time I got home.
Ate my way through the kitchen and logged in a 29.3 mile bite at my 2500 in 2007 goal on bikejournal.com.

Beautiful spring day, did a 40 mile club ride today. It got into the 80s, which actually felt hot to me after the cold whether we'd been having, but I better get used to it or I won't survive summer! A friend and I were both riding our touring bikes, and a racing team passed us, and one of the 'kids' shouted out, 'hey, look at the old-fashioned bikes.' My friend was riding his brand new waterford adventure bike, and I was riding my new travel bike, and I guess these kids have never seen touring bikes equipped with Brooks Saddles before. But, just to make a point I jumped on the back of their peleton and wheel sucked for a while, although I also blew myself up and paid for it dearly when the serious climbs started. I can't wait to spring forward!

Three times is a charm and I was finally able to get a ride in today.

First, BF and I had plans of participating the the 59 mile club ride. Plans were cancelled when rain moved in and we decided not to make the long drive over to Indiana. I'm glad we cancelled for it rained most of the morning.

Second, I decided to participate in the 10:00 club ride a flat 40 miler. Plans were cancelled when the rain started, temps had dropped and the wind was blowing. I, instead, had lunch with my best friend.

Third time out the door worked. The sun was making an attempt to peek through the clouds and the wind had died down so off I went. I got in 22 miles this afternoon and would have like to keep going but I felt like I needed to get home and acomplish something (which never happened today - I have a hard time making myself do school work on the weekends). So the stack of papers to be graded are still on my desk and I'll attempt to make my way through them tomorrow (sounds good at least).

I rode a mile in the rain to my 1 hr massage appt, then rode a mile in the rain back home.

oh, yeah...

I tried to ride outside on Friday but there was still ice on the trail the was likely to linger into Saturday's early hours. Consequently, yesterday morning, I did a sunrise ride at Haines Point while my husband went for a run. Pavement was clear but the usual Potomac headwind made the flat course a little challenging. It was great, seeing the city wake up around me (flights started departing/arriving at Nat'l Airport, for example). Ended up logging in 33 miles. It got up to the 60s yesterday, rained last night, and for a change, stayed above freezing overnight, so I'm expecting the trail to be clear of ice finally. It'll be nice to get back to my hills!!

Yesterday I had 40 miles scheduled on my century training schedule. I set out after morning rains had passed through. Set burst forth almost right away. Tried out some new roads and put together a nice new route that I can stretch out by adding some turns as my mileage increases. But it's a hilly little bugger :eek: but that will pay dividends in the long run. Saw lots of baby animals as I passed by farms and a big heron flying by.

43.61 miles and I felt every one of them. Thank goodness only 15 today!!

This was week four of our TNT century ride training. We rode in a very pretty area out in Brookshire, TX. Lovely out and back route of 43 miles. Very foggy to start but it cleared off and got up to 80 degrees. Got several bugs bouncing off of me including one right off my teeth :D LOL

Nice ride and really enjoyed it. I got up to 24 miles per hour! :cool: Several gentle sloping hills that were fun but work. Between the second and third stop I got quite naseaous and almost had to stop. The coach said sit in the van and drink and eat in the shade...and take off your helmet you will cool off faster. Cool off?

Being a rookie rider, I did not realize I was even hot. I guess I was. After I drank and ate, I felt much better and did not have to SAG my way back in. I was very proud of my self! 20+ miles out with a tail wind and 20+ miles back with a head wind and I did it! Yippee!! :)

Yesterday I rode 60 miles with a 14.5 mph average.

I rode in the "casual" group (aka: we couldn't keep up with the fast group), and really did enjoy the beautiful warm 80 degree day!

It was a KILLER though! My thighs were BURNING from all the hills and all the rest stops in the world were not helping. I guess I forgot that it had been about 4 months since I rode anything over 35 miles at one time!


OH, and my Terry saddle is a torture device. Maybe it's not fitted properly... because the soft tissue where my leg and butt meets, is very tender (aka: in pain!). My sit bones are just fine though.

I'm going to the bike shop to look for a new saddle tomorrow.