5/3 rides

I had the day off, so I set out for a little fun on Sugar. Not a lot of cyclists out, but on a quiet stretch of road, I heard the approaching whir of wheels. 3 guys, all on Trek road bikes. As they passed, the first guy said I was welcome to join them, to hang on at the back. Now, I don't know these guys, so I'm not going to just latch on to some strange wheel. I'm not that kind of girl. :rolleyes: Seriously, I need to trust that you know how to ride before I'm going to draft off you. So, I held back and rode my pace, not really dropped by them, but not on their wheels, either.

Well, at the next hill, the last guy in line dropped his chain, and had to stop to fix it. I would have been able to ride around him if I had been pacelining with them--or would I?! Glad I didn't have to take that test. As I passed them on the hill, the first guy said I made it look easy. That was nice, but the whole thing must have been pretty embarrassing for them.:D Luckily, I went a different way, and didn't see them again.

Stopped back home for a quick bike change, and headed to a couple of stores for groceries. Got a new Basil Mirte pannier from by bro for my approaching b'day, and took it on it's maiden trip. I love it! I know this is supposed to go on one of those cute Danish bikes, but it fit my 'cross bike perfectly. I suppose it's a bit of a fashion faux pas, but it works for me.

Discovered it's probably a good idea to bring a rubber band for holding the egg carton closed. None broke, but it was a little risky.

I had the day off as well. Had lunch with IndySteel, took care of some business with my LBS on the Jamis, then went home to change and grab my Gunnar :) Had 20 glorious miles in my favorite park - it was close enough to rush hour that I didn't want to hit the road.

I did work a bit with my shifting, and experimented with climbing in an easier gear. I decided if I could conserve a bit of energy by dropping a few gears and spinning at a slightly higher cadence - say around 90ish - that it might be a good compromise. It worked :)

I've read comments here where people appear to be saying that spinning in an easier gear is more cardiovascularly intensive than a slower cadence in a harder gear. Personally I find it the opposite - but then again my cadence isn't THAT different in those two situations.

Beautiful ride, but there was this bright object in the sky from time to time? I am unsure what it actually was, but it seemed to hurt my eyes to look at it. Also, there were patches of the sky that appeared to be blue, not gray or black :confused: :eek: Unsure what all of that was, but I think I liked it :D

I rode 3 blocks of my commute and didn't feel good so turned around and went home.

So--6 blocks.

I can't complain; it's way better to feel lousy now than when I was on vacation!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redrhodie

... Not a lot of cyclists out, but on a quiet stretch of road, I heard the approaching whir of wheels. 3 guys, all on Trek road bikes.

---

When I first read this I thought to myself - did you get passed by the same guys I did? They must have all been over 6 feet tall and they were like gazelles they were so lean and fast. It was impressive.

Ha, I had a similar experience riding at 6 AM today. I didn't set out all of my stuff and get my bike ready with the light as I usually do, because I thought it might be raining. But, it wasn't.
I did a 13 mile ride and by the time I got out there, I really didn't need my light, but I like to have it on when the cars have their lights on. So, I was riding down a short street, heading to make my turn around, when I saw 2 guys riding down the road that goes by Hanscom AFB. I thought for sure they would not turn in my direction, but I sort of felt them as I was making a left and then one flew by me, with no acknowledgement. However, the second one came up beside me and asked me about my blinkie on the back, to which I replied I had no idea what brand it is... he took off and I thought, wow. This guy had an old bike with down tube shifters and he was wearing tube socks and the kind of shoes you wear with toe clips. He was slower than the first one, but I knew I couldn't stay with him. So, my goal was to keep them in sight. I actually did, even after a small climb and a turn, but they finally got really ahead of me before I turned off toward my neighborhood. They must have been going at least 22-23 mph.
It raised my average speed a bit :) and I felt very virtuous for trying that hard so early in the AM.

Shortened version of the after-work ride today. Two other guys had various aches and pains, and we had a stiff head wind going out. I ended up going only 10.5 miles instead of the planned 17, but the tailwind coming back was really fun. It's okay- I think I can get out for 25 tomorrow afternoon.

Had a lovely after-work ride tonight. Temp was in the low 80s, and there was a pretty strong SW breeze. It was kinda humid, but still quite nice. Rode with DH on our Bike Fridays -- a rare treat as he usually rides his Trek on recreational (not utility) rides, so we could actually ride together -- I'm too slow when he rides his Trek. He started out before I got home from work and got in 40 miles; I got 20.5 in.

The week days here on Long Island have been horrible this whole spring season. If it is not crazy wind gusts, it is damp, fog, showers. I don't remember having a full week of nice weather. Anyway, my only rides have been on the weekends which have been GREAT! This is the first time in 9 years that I didn't begin my after work rides in April at least. damn!! That be said, I have 500 miles in which puts me on target for the beginning of May. It must be due to more trainer miles and long road miles than in the past.