August 6th rides

DH and I did the usual commute (9 miles), hammering to make sure that we made it here before a line of thunderstorms did :eek: Today was the first time in almost 2 weeks that we rode to work. It was so great to get back in (on?) the commuting saddle.

DH touched my rear wheel from the side when he turned to scan for a loud dump truck behind us. I'm so excited and relieved that we both stayed upright. It's always a good feeling when you test your handling skills and come out on top!

How did everyone else fare today? :)

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Originally Posted by Becky

DH touched my rear wheel from the side when he turned to scan for a loud dump truck behind us. I'm so excited and relieved that we both stayed upright.

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Eeeps! :eek: I'm glad you stayed upright, too! The other week, I saw two women touch wheels on a downhill, and the woman in back ended up going over the handlebars and landing SPLAT! right in front of me (I was riding uphill)! Not a pleasant thing, at all....

Ride in this a.m. was pretty uneventful. There's one section of the MUT by the tennis courts that's overgrown with bamboo on a curve, so the curve is blind and pinched into one lane. I ring my bell and come around the corner - slowly, as always - and a woman was walking towards me...with her little dog running all around...not on a leash! I blurted out "Whoa! He's not on a leash!" (pure instinct...state the obvious :rolleyes:) as I jump onto the grass, cutting between the dog and the woman. The woman goes by and says (rather snottily to my ears) "That's right." I commented "He belongs on a leash." and rode away. Grrr.... :mad::mad:

I was able to get together with Grey from the boards and do a 25 mile ride with some other folks from Summerville. :-) It was really hot and humid, even though we started out at 8.30 am, but we made it! The ride had some light hills and was through some beautiful countryside! We both decided we need to bring a camera next time.

It was fun to meet new riders/friends and I look forward to riding with them again soon!!

22.83 VERY hot miles here. By the time we made it home, the heat index was 95. I'm ready for fall.

CA

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Originally Posted by 7rider

I ring my bell and come around the corner - slowly, as always - and a woman was walking towards me...with her little dog running all around...not on a leash! I blurted out "Whoa! He's not on a leash!" (pure instinct...state the obvious :rolleyes:) as I jump onto the grass, cutting between the dog and the woman. The woman goes by and says (rather snottily to my ears) "That's right." I commented "He belongs on a leash." and rode away. Grrr.... :mad::mad:

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This has got to be one of my biggest peeves, even as a dog owner. I don't know or trust your dog- please don't put me in a situation where I need to make assumptions about his temperment or behavior. I would have said something similar to the owner...

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

22.83 VERY hot miles here. By the time we made it home, the heat index was 95. I'm ready for fall.

CA

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You and me both! I'm already shopping for winter gloves, booties, that sort of thing....

No ride tonight. Still pouring out! Guess its going to be a treadmill night. Bumma:(

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Originally Posted by 7rider

with her little dog running all around...not on a leash! I blurted out "Whoa! He's not on a leash!" (pure instinct...state the obvious :rolleyes:) as I jump onto the grass, cutting between the dog and the woman. The woman goes by and says (rather snottily to my ears) "That's right." I commented "He belongs on a leash." and rode away. Grrr.... :mad::mad:

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You never know, even from one of the best dogs, if something might frighten or upset your dog - I've seen them go ballistic because of a funny hat on someone they'd met before! Going leashless in public is just plain stupid - not just for other people's well being (my mother is terrified of dogs) but for the dog's as well. You could have run over her dog, or a car could if the dog decided to run toward a road after a squirrel or cat. Just plain stupid.:mad:

I'm very proud of my ride today. I am working up to commuting to work... getting used to all the traffic and the hills. The route there is pretty much a steady down hill. The way back is all uphill and I went up a bit higher in elevation to get into a gorgeous neighborhood with no traffic. My original plan had been to go the 16 miles to the hospital and then head to the train station to cut out about 8 miles, but I just kept going. I stopped a couple times to use my google maps to figure out where the heck I was going. I had made a couple changes because of traffic and construction. I felt like I was barely moving for part of the way back, but I just kept saying, "It doesn't matter how fast you're going, just get there!"

All said and done, 30.85 miles from Altadena, CA to Duarte and back.

I would obviously never do the whole ride at once for my commute. I just don't know if I'm ready to handle those hills on the way home after a 10 hour day at the hospital.

Becky, glad you and DH stayed upright!

Dogs not on leashes = :mad: There is a blue heeler on my loop that loves to come and try to bite the front wheel. The owners just stand there and watch from their barn. grrr.

26 miles on my highway loop in grueling heat with average speed 19.3. (prior best for that distance on that road was 18.8pmh a few weeks ago so def improving). I did 16 on the same road yesterday averaging 19.5 mph a personal best. I did feel my calves wanting to cramp up a little at the end. I think a nice easy ride with BF tomorrow will be in order!

Came out for the club ride - even though I'm teaching a lot of aerobics classes this week - just because I've been missing so many rides lately. Of course the boys wanted to hammer. The only other woman (who's still recovering from Mountain Mama this weekend) opted for a shorter route, so I went with her. Our pace was still a little out of my comfort zone, but it was perfect, really - just enough to push myself a bit, not enough to be frustrating.

My HR was through the roof early on when I was trying to hang with the boys. Partly the heat, partly stress, partly just that I haven't been riding enough.

Unfortunately my GPS is recording distances short :confused: don't know why - going to have to call tech support tomorrow, because I can't figure it out from the manual. I was guessing that maybe it's reading the wheel sensor in preference to the satellite data, and that it's not properly calibrated - except the wheel sensor is supposed to be auto-calibrated via GPS data, and it's not even supposed to operate unless the GPS is turned off. DH says Garmin's tech support is really good. I guess I get to find out :rolleyes:

Then, a quarter mile before we got back to the cars, I got a flat :mad: I just walked it in. I'll fix it tomorrow.

29.85 miles, 16.7 mph average, 1597 feet of climbing (somewhat less than our usual Wednesday rides).

Oakleaf - I was reading reviews of the new edge (not sure if that's what you have), and apparently the old software version had that problem. There's a firmware upgrade if that's it.

CA

Thanks! No, I hadn't got the latest firmware update (I did do the last one when I first got the unit). Hopefully that will solve the problem. Thanks for saving me from calling tech support and looking like a total n00b :D! I'm just spoiled these days with most of my stuff automatically telling me when there's an update.

My 50 mile solo route was a challenge in the 89 heat. I felt like it was 95 at least. My camelback was a lifesaver. About halfway I stopped under desert oasis (a interstate bridge) with my stomach cramped up. A few miles further I stopped at a truck stop for rest and food. I felt much better on the last half of the ride and enjoyed racing the buffalo!