Saturday Dec. 6th Rides

I've never started a daily ride thread before... I'm assuming there's not really a science to it, so here goes :o

Boyfriend and I did a 26-ish mile, relatively hilly loop on the streets of north Tucson, starting and ending at his apartment. I was ready to keep going, but he was wiped out and had places to be later today. A couple big-ish hills, many little ups and downs...looking at a mappy thing I think the net climb that we did was about 600ft, but I could have also completely made that up. I'm not too good with that stuff yet!

It was my first time out with bar ends, which I bought and installed myself yesterday. I added some other things, too (hand-me-down rack and trunk bag, courtesy of my boyfriend who is driving up to REI right now to pick up his new BOB trailer and has no need for such little piddly things anymore :rolleyes:)... I'm really excited about making changes to my bike (and doing them myself!), so once I take some pictures I'll probably start a thread to celebrate. :D I'm holding out for PowerGrips before I do that, though.

I'm really happy with the bar ends! I tend to get really tense and have a death-grip on my handlebars on hill climbs, and I felt so much more relaxed with a couple other positions to put my hands in. I was able to concentrate more on my breathing and my cadence without the distraction of burning forearms. :eek:

Anyway, if I survived 26 hilly miles, I think I'm in good shape for the MS ride I'm doing in March, which is supposedly very flat.

haha one mile! to a 94 year old friend's house and back, on my Mixte.
happy birthday to a lady who was born Dec 6, 1914!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

haha one mile! to a 94 year old friend's house and back, on my Mixte.
happy birthday to a lady who was born Dec 6, 1914!!

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I love it! I hope she (and you) had a splendid day!

Rode 20 miles with my DH this morning. Pretty chilly, starting at 24F and working up to 34F. Later, we went to watch CX races at Goddard Park here in RI and met up with Redrhodie there as well. (I just posted quite a few races pics on my blog, if you are interested in 'cross...)

I actually rode. Outside. Today.
I couldn't stand one more day at the gym, so I decided that even though it was 34 and cloudy, I would do some of my holiday shopping in town. I rode my Jamis a whopping total of 9 miles; first to the bike shop to get socks for presents for my friends and then on to a housewares store for 2 other presents. There were a couple of snowflakes on the way home and the temperature had gone down to 30. At 3:15, most of the cars had their lights on, so I put my Mininewt on, having taken off the more powerful one, since I doubt I'll be doing night riding in the winter.
I seemed to have dressed appropriately, although the balaclava, which I needed on the way there, down the hill, was a bit too warm on the way back.
So, it was only 9 miles, but about 2 miles are significant climbs.

I went for a ride in the cold: 28F when I went out, 33F when I finished. Compared to my last cold ride, today my body was colder overall but my hands and feet were warmer and my core got less sweaty, so overall I was more comfortable today. 25 miles. I also took the commuter bike for a short spin to check out the new handlebar I installed a week or two ago. I think I like the new hand position but I may need to go to a longer stem. 5 miles.

I took a quick little jaunt on my steel bike, now affectionately renamed "the little tank". Then I went to the cross races. What fun that was!

I'm thinking I'd like to try to learn those mounts and dismounts next cross season. The little tank may be getting some fat tires next fall!

I did 20 miles today through the Virginia Beach oceanfront and Ft. Story. It was COLD and my legs and hips kept cramping up. I had to stop twice to stretch them out which wasn't fun. I did make it the whole way though. This is my first winter riding, so I think I just have to get acclimated to it.

Any suggestions on the cramping?

I did a 30 mile rolling hills ride on my usual route. I haven't been out on my bike because I had a terrible time with flats - figured out there was some glass I was missing in my tire and the rim tape needed to be redone. The tire held through 3 sessions on the trainer, so I figured I was good to go. I was right! It was soooo nice to get outside again!

Return to group riding! After 3 months off (due to a move) I missed it.It was also my first long ride on the new bike. It felt fantastic. Of course I had to pick the coldest dampest day yet. 39.5 miles, with no feeling in my feet for most of it:) I am now the proud owner of wool socks and booties. Can't wait to do it again!