Sunday May 2 rides

My parents sent me a message last night saying they planned on riding the linear trail by them, so I got up early and met up with them. I rode with them most of the time, but a few times I went out ahead and then doubled back to find them, so I added a couple of miles. 20.5 total for the trail. With the forecast calling for thunderstorms and the temperature already in the mid-80's I thought I was done for the day. But once I returned home I thought "If I plan on finishing that century next month, I'd better get some more miles." So I rode around town and actually found it to be cooler than at my parents, thanks to the breeze coming off the still cold ocean. Another 12.3 miles and I felt great, even breezing up some hills that normally slow me. My biker tan is starting to kick in, too:cool:

*jealous*

The Great Salt Lake is a pretty poor replacement for OCEAN.

It was only in the 60s when I rode this morning. The weatherman said it would be 85, but I guess he was talking inland. I wore my new Ibex Indy s/s jersey. It's the best! I was a little concerned I'd be chilly, but I bagged the bolero I was wearing at the last second, and I'm glad I went without. I had a nice fast 23 miler trying to stay warm.

I did the same ride as yesterday 21+ but this time I brought my husband along with me. He decided that he wants to start riding too. We both signed up for TFCE (The Flattest Century in the East) in September. He hasn't been on a bike since he was a kid. We had a great time. I am not used to having a riding partner.

It's sultry out there -- a bazillion degrees (about 84F when I went out) and 400% humidity (~ 63% when I left to ride) -- but I went for a ride anyway to, apparently, give bugs something to stick to. And stick they did, including big ones, right on my sweaty face after smacking into me. Just over 14 miles for me, the human equivalent of bugpaper (flypaper). I'm not crazy about giving these freeloaders a ride, but what really irks me is when they decide to take a little nibble or a big ol' chomp. If they didn't want to be stuck to me, they shouldn't have flown right onto me. Geez. What nerve, to taste their hostess and transportation. Dumb bugs.

And speaking of dumb, or at least not the best of ideas, I saw four deer in the creek. A young one, past the stage of spotted but not quite full-grown, was squatting, merrily peeing away, immediately upstream of two that were quenching their thirst. Umm, eww! Kind of makes me wonder if the creek water is so bad, they can't tell the difference. :eek:

Despite the bugs, heat, peeshow, and humidity, to say nothing of the little dog someone really should have had on a leash, I had a great time!

22 mile flat recovery ride. The best part was having the wind at my back heading home. Lower back still a bit sore. Also got too much sun on my back! :( Next time sun screen when riding at noon. Summer is here!

25 mile breakfast ride. I ate a tiny bowl of plain yogurt and fruit, with half of a Luna bar and we headed out to Nancy's cafe at the Minuteman Airfield in Stow. 90 degrees was predicted, but at 8:40 AM, it was still 60, so put my bolero and wind vest over my short sleeved jersey. Took a nice slow-ish ride there, about 10.5 miles, with one little hill near the beginning. The cafe was busy, but we got seated and greeted personally, since we used to go here a lot when it was only 3 miles from home. Another couple who had ridden there were seated by us, but they told us that we were "professionals," since we had all of the "fancy gear." I responded that they were doing more than 99.9% of the people around and were "real cyclists," too. I was a little worried about eating a hearty breakfast and then having to ride home, so I opted for one apple cinamon pancake, with a slice of ham. Had to go easy on the coffee, too.
When we headed back, the temperature had risen considerably, the sun was out, and the humidity pretty awful. We took a longer way home (but not the longest) and got home well before it got really brutal out. It was nice to have the rest of the day free, although I always feel a little lost if I don't have some physical activity to take up my whole day! My afternoon consisted of going to Dairy Joy and having a nice soft serve cone with chocolate dip.

It was a sticky one in the metro D.C. area on Sunday. And wet in the a.m. from an evening rain. So road grime, bugs, pollen, all hitched a ride and I was completely coated by the time I got back.
I opted for a solo ride out into the hills of Howard County yesterday, instead of the shop ride. Why? I have no idea. :rolleyes: Insomnia on Saturday night, in part. A desire to do an "easy" ride, given the 60-odd miles (96 km) I rode on Saturday was part of it, too.
I thought I'd do a 30-35 mile (48-56 km) loop. But I guess I forgot how long that loop was, as it was closer to 42 miles (67 km). And hillier than I remembered. :eek: And my legs were screaming up the last 3 climbs. So much for taking it easy. :rolleyes:

Dodge-em-horse-pucky. The weather was great, mid 80s, nice breeze, sunny. Went mountain biking at a place I have not been since last year, forgetting that on days like this, all the equestrians are out. Yep. There were more horses on the trail than bikes, and all the good lines were filled with poop. Guess I'm not going back there again till winter. Thankfully there are lots of other trails that are not frequented by pucky makers.

Recovery ride from a 42-miler the day before. DH has a bum back wheel, so he rode my old hybrid. That was worth the trip! Sis and her husband were recovering from a 2-day Katy Trail ride. My BIL had gone over the handlebars TWICE, so he was on his old mountain bike. SO, it was a leisurely ride out to the coffee house for breakfast.

My husband was ASHAST at how HEAVY my old bike was, as he carted it through the house. (It's new nickname is Big Wheel--since it is unwieldly to carry). At some point, everyone realized I was the only one that had a computer/GPS on my bike--they had no idea how far we had gone or how fast. It was a "throw back" ride, as we discussed how we used to rough it in the old days (approx 3 years ago)!

My legs and knees were screaming, but it felt good to loosen them up a little. No was was injured or bicycles were hurt. A good day with perfect weather :D