February 1 Rides

Well, I am embarrassed to admit it, but I finally took my first ride of 2009. I was travelling in europe for christmas and most of Jan. which is the main reason I couldn't ride. Then when I got back, I was sick and mornings were cold, but today was finally the first day I felt well enough and the weather cooperated.

Ride started at 48 degrees F and ended at 68! I actually overdressed, shebeest tech tights and retro long sleeve jersey. I should have worn arm and knee warmers that I could pull off as it warmed up. Despite the hiatus, I held my own on the group ride. Just felt healed and rested, not really too unfit. I guess all that walking around european cities did some good after all.

A nice hill country ride. We climbed up the toutant, and then cruised down bourne stage road. Some wind, and yeh, I had to work to keep up but I did it! It felt great to be out there again, with the wind in my hair and sun beating down on me. A LOT better than navigating a snowy switzerland! I discovered on my trip that I am just NOT a cold weather person. The day we were supposed to ski we just huddled in our hotel room trying to get warm and healthy. Yeh it was fun to get to wear lots of wool and use my boots and winter coat, but my body just didn't feel good there, and got sick very easily.

Good job, Triskeliongirl!

I rode for the first time outdoors since, um, January 5th? I have been riding my trainer to stay in shape, but I still felt like a big slug out there. I may have held my weight, but I've lost whatever it is that gets me through the wind.

I saw one other roadie, looking like he was suffering, too. I kept thinking, this is harder than the hardest gear on the trainer, and I'm going to have to maintain this until that bend in the road up ahead. The old headwind mind-#$@^ rears it's ugly head.

Still, it was a beautiful day, with very little ice left, and clean patches of road where the sand used to be. It felt good to be moving!

It's so nice out! But unlike Red Rhodie, we still have ice patches on all of the secondary roads and lots of melting, salt, and sand everywhere else. It will be hard for me not to ride tomorrow, but it's just not safe.
I went for a 4 mile walk on the road, as opposed to in the woods. My husband is recovering from bronchitis and is just getting back to exercising. It's funny, we walked the opposite way that we are usually riding or walking on Strawberry Hill Rd., on a part of the road we hardly ever go on, because we cut through another street. I saw things I never have seen before, even riding, because I think I'm usually going downhill there and concentrating so much. I saw the 15,000 sq. ft. house that supposedly Oprah was going to buy about ten years ago (her boyfriend's kids went to a private school here). But the town axed the request for the helipad, so she never moved here... I thought it was a school or something when I first looked through the woods today. Very strange.

My second ride was today. It's just been too cold in January. But today was beautiful, 50s, sunny, and a bit windy. My local club has a weekly ride that starts just 5 miles from my house, so I rode to the ride start. The ride is geared toward speedsters, but I rode with a couple of folks who were more my speed. It felt so good to be out again, and since i have only 5 weeks until my bike vacation, it's time to get riding! All told, it was 28 miles. Not much, but a good start.

Well, I take back the idea that I didn't loose too much fitness during my hiatus. While I managed to not get dropped, I crashed out for a nap after lunch, and really felt muscle soreness when I woke up. OUCH. But, I knew this would be the best ride to quickly whip me back into shape.

The good news is that I think that winter weather is leaving us! We had a pretty cold week for south texas, but thank goodness the cold front moved on.

I did our club's usual women; which we had to make impromptu re-routing due to the winds Got to show the other gals a bike path they didn't know existed:)

We did a timed ride today -- instead of riding together, my husband and I headed out together for a two-hour ride, i.e., we each rode out for an hour at our own pace and then came home. I pulled the trailer so I made it about half as far as he did, although I also made it back twenty minutes early because I turned back a little early. I did about 20 miles and my daughter did so well ... I keep worrying that she will start to get bored in the trailer, but she just loves going for rides and gets really excited.

Over 40 degrees for the first time on a Sunday in a month so I rode to my art studio model session (i was a painter, not the model).
YAY!

Rode up Mt. Hamilton today with melissam & dachshund. It was gorgeous up there today, clear & sunny and the mountain is getting green again.

I passed right by a coyote standing in the road, I was really suprised that he didn't scamper off as I approached him. And on our way back we passed a field with at least a dozen deer placidly grazing, oblivious to us.

A great (if tiring) day.

DH and I dropped one bike off at my LBS for conversion to an Xtracycle -- I'm so excited I can hardly wait for it to get done, even though we still need to wait for the parts to come in and everything.

Added shims to the brifters on the other bike, then rode home in ABOVE FREEZING WEATHER for the first time in what felt like forever and a day. Woo! I took the "long" way home (only 12.5 miles anyway) because it was such a gorgeous day and I didn't want to waste it. Sunny, 40-ish, somewhat breezy; lots of melting snow and, as Crankin said, residue ice and sand/salt all over, but still the nicest ride I've had in a long time. Also it was lovely to actually feel warm without wearing about 3 layers of everything. Face and fingers exposed to the air, and not frozen -- what a wonderful feeling!

Did 13 mile "all girl" moutain bike ride. I was the slowest and greenest of the three of us but still had fun. I did get to show how to do the Liver Lacerator which is my new favorite feature at this trail. :p

I've been out of it for a while due to injuries, so yesterday what my first outdoors ride in a LONG time!!! It was 72 with a slight wind. I went on a new path that I finally figured out where it was located! I'm so excited to find a new place that even connects to my old loop to ride!!! I feel great afterwards, only a little shoulder stiffness. I think that my spinning classes ofver the past three weeks have really helped prepare me!!!

Gotta get ready for that MS 150

I just posted this in Mimi's 'fenders are important' post...but I got out yesterday for only my second ride in 2009.

I mapped out a 20 mile loop for DH and I on some backroads near our house. We are both out of shape, so we didn't want anything too tough, so I tried to pick roads that stayed in the valley. Unfortunately, I didn't know all the roads, so I was just picking them based on distance using google maps.

Big mistake.

1/2 the ride ended up being dirt/gravel roads that were VERY muddy. And half those dirt roads were UPHILL. Yes, stupid me - we ended up doing a lovely 4 mile, 7% climb in MUD. Ugh. We were so not prepared for it! I think that if they ever pave that road, it would be a wonderful climb...but in mud it was pure hell.

I was so thankful that I'd taken my commuter bike with the bigger tires and fenders...and that my H had good fenders on his bike...or we'd both have been a mess. I had to keep banging my fenders to keep the mud from building up and rubbing, but my bike stayed quite clean. And while we were totally wiped out by the time we got home, we were at least reasonably mud free!

I'm paying for it today - stairs are a real b1tch to climb! :rolleyes: