Saturday, 8/21 RIDES!!!

It is strangely cool and cloudy here today...it should be in the 90's but it's currently 68 here at my house. I took off on one of my longer routes this morning and had an excellent ride...with one exception, which I will mention in a minute :(

If anyone has heard of Placerville, CA, that's where I rode to today. It's about a 40 mile loop down and back depending on which way I go. It's so pretty...forest, apple orchards, vineyards, and views of the Sierra Nevada mountains here and there. My house is at about 4,000' and Placerville is at about 1,400', so I got in lots of climbing!

OK, so the bad thing. While going 30+ mph down a really fun curvy descent, a yellowjacket landed on my shin and started biting the sh*t out of me. At that moment, I couldn't let go of the handlebars to get it off so it chewed away at my leg for probably 15-20 seconds. YOWZA!!! I stopped a couple miles later and popped a Benadryl (which I would highly recommend everyone carry in their seat bag). Now I have about a 4" wide circle on my leg that's all swollen and red. And it hurts SO BAD!!!!

Oh! that yellow jacket experience sounds awful!

I had an insect moment too, but with a less catostrophic ending. A good sized insect ended up between my eye and my glasses while I was riding. I took off the glasses and kept brushing it away, and finally it disappeared. I was a little nervous because I couldn't actually see it but it seemed to be the size of a bee....and I can think of few worse places to get a bee sting.

Our weather was overcast too, which kept the temperature in the low-mid 80's - very moderate for a desert morning in August, with even a hint of rain as we got into the homestretch. The whole ride was 46 miles, out to the southeast of Tucson.

Youch RolliePollie! I hope your leg is feeling better!


Temps were much cooler than anticipated here today as well. I set out to do a 66 mile ride today but wound up only doing 57 miles in 4.5 hours. The last 90 minutes or so I had a B*TCH of a headwind when headed west or south - the fastest I could pedal when going west was 10 mph! Sucked the strength right out of me.

Great ride, but am tireder than I have been recently on my long rides. Part of it was the wind, but I also drank less Accelerade - only half a bottle instead of 1.5 bottles. I was well hydrated, drank about 75 ounces of Heed, but I should have drank more, and more Accelderade. That protein does seem to help with the longer rides and probably helps support a more stable blood sugar as well. I also experimented with Honey Stinger chews rather than Shot Blocks - perhaps I shouldn't be experimenting with that has been working for me ... or the headwind just zapped my energy. Headwind = energy vampire. Even the fast boys were not disappearing into the distance as quickly as they normally do...

Got wet today, and kept looking to the sky to see if the reported thunderstorms were building but they never came :) Hopefully more rain will come tonight as we do need it.

Well, I had to call 911 to report an a-hole who tried to run me off the road, and to get some police presence in the area for the rest of my ride, since I still had to ride home, and this violent person was on the road. Within a couple of minutes of calling, a police van drove by me. I stopped and spoke with an officer on the road after the incident, and he said I did the right thing by reporting it.

The details--all things you've heard way too much here before, a honk, some yelling (him at me to get off the road, which is especially ironic since I was in the shoulder) then a way too close, aggressively fast pass (he was in the shoulder now, too), leaving me with no room. I've never felt so deliberately threatened in all my miles of riding. I stopped, got out my phone, and dialed. I had time to get his plate.

I'm sure nothing will come of it, but at least if he hits anyone, there will be a record of his behavior against cyclists. I'm tempted to go to the police station, but I've given this jerk enough of my energy already. He can travel through his sad angry life with all its ugly trappings. I'm glad I am not him.

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Originally Posted by redrhodie

Well, I had to call 911 to report an a-hole who tried to run me off the road, and to get some police presence in the area for the rest of my ride, since I still had to ride home, and this violent person was on the road. Within a couple of minutes of calling, a police van drove by me. I stopped and spoke with an officer on the road after the incident, and he said I did the right thing by reporting it.

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I am sorry to hear your ride was interrupted by this individual, and kudos to you for calling the cops and doing what you needed to do. Thankfully he did no more than he did...

I, too had to call 911 and report a vehicle that threatened me. Stupid bunch of teenagers. Don't know if the cops will do anything or not.

I did end up going to the police station. Nothing came of it, but they were looking for him, which makes me proud of my local police. The lady at the front desk was very kind, and she made me feel a lot better. It was nice to hear someone say "you could have been killed, thank god you had your cell phone" and not blow me off, like I was expecting. But, now that time has passed, there's no way of proving who was driving, so that's that.

This was an anomaly to riding around here. There are other problems, but not aggression and road rage. I am somewhat concerned about my safety now, and I don't want this to change me, but I probably won't be riding weekend evenings anymore. Back to early mornings until fall. Here I was, trying to get into the Zen of riding in traffic, and it was complete drama.

2 nice cyclists stopped at the scene while I was talking to 911, and were genuinely concerned. That's what I should focus on. The bad in one person brought out the good in 2 others, and karma will handle the rest.

I went mountain biking. DH was at a conference so I took it nice and easy all day then made my way to the trail about 5:00. It was really empty which made me timid. Normally the trail is busy and I know that if I wreck alone someone would eventually show up. But I felt very isolated so I played it safe. It was shockingly mild feeling, supposedly 100 degrees but I felt cooler. That was a nice surprise.

I did see the norm for the trail, a family with very young kids that have gotten lost too far back (in this case a little over 1 mile). These people never have any water and I almost always find them in the same area where they have passed at least two large maps but are totally clueless how many trails there are at this park. I gave them directions to look for the green signs and follow the "P" on the sign to the parking lot out and hoped they had water at the park. The kids couldn't have been but maybe 4 and 6 if that old. They also had a puppy with them. I really should carry extra bottles of water for these goofballs. :rolleyes:

Rollie- I have been stung twice this summer! Once by a black "tarantula hawk" wasp hiking in New Mexico and then just this week while mountain biking by a bee. The black wasp was really swollen and itchy for about 2 weeks. I found benedryl cream really helped. The bee sting is about 4 days old and slightly itchy but not nearly as bad. That is the worst feeling to be riding then stung, happened twice to me and once to DH. I think the exertion makes the sting last longer but I could just be wimpy. I feel for you!

Red- I am glad the cops took your seriously. I have had a couple road aggression issues locally (firecracker, trash thrown, swerving violently) and luckily even in a town of only 1,600 I have never encountered the cars again. Oddly they appeared to live on the roads I ride often but I haven't. So take comfort in that and don't be afraid!

I was debating whether to go out on a longer road ride with the Sorella Forte women, or to go for an off-road ride in Forest Park by myself on my cross bike. Opted for the latter, and made it to milepost 7 (of 11 or so) when I was stopped by a barricade and a landslide notice. Drat! So I turned around and headed back, which was ok really 'cos my back was not so happy with me at that point, and my arms were jelly from all the vibrations. So I got 25 miles in, and I'm feeling more confident in my ability to ride the Kruger's Kermesse Farm Crit next weekend.

I tried it two years ago, on my hybrid since I didn't have a cross bike, and was doing ok until my seat clamp broke and my seat pointed straight up. Couldn't fix it and didn't want to stand on the pedals for the whole race. So I DNF'd. This year, my goal is to finish. I don't care where I finish, as long as I finish.

Did a new route which had some rollers but poorly paved roads. Had my best ride yet. Averaged almost 18mph on semi-hilly terrain. My DH said he was IMPRESSED (and kind of turned on!). I felt great all day.

Singapore is currently hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. So there are lots of venues around the island to accommodate the various sporting events. So on Saturday I got a friend who's new to cycling/hasnt cycled in a long time, and another cycling friend and we rode a total of 128kms, over 15 hours...and visited almost all the venues (just the outside of course) here are some pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...2&l=03f20020d0

Annual Moonlight ride on Saturday night, which was lots of fun. There were about 1000 people they say, and it was like looking at a street full of fairies with all the blinking lights. 17 miles in the dark, a nice change.

A friend and I did the Cool Breeze Century which starts in Ventura and rides out, through the mountains into Montoceito and returns via the Coast through Santa Barbara. The Cool Breeze was warmer than normal but the scenery was still lovely. Monteceito is an awesome area to ride, narrow private roads through some of the most beautiful countryside. Ophra has a home there somewhere. Lots of climbing in the beginning and I was tired after, but I enjoyed myself. Met lots of nice people all day!

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Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama

Rollie- I have been stung twice this summer! Once by a black "tarantula hawk" wasp hiking in New Mexico and then just this week while mountain biking by a bee. The black wasp was really swollen and itchy for about 2 weeks. I found benedryl cream really helped. The bee sting is about 4 days old and slightly itchy but not nearly as bad. That is the worst feeling to be riding then stung, happened twice to me and once to DH. I think the exertion makes the sting last longer but I could just be wimpy. I feel for you!

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Geez, twice in one summer...that's not right! I'm on antibiotics as of this morning...sting is infected and my entire lower leg is swollen and hot to the touch. I know insects are important, but right now I have very hateful feelings towards yellowjackets!