Rides Dec. 10th

Did anyone else ride today?
I did about 20 miles, didn't start until about 3, so it was probably my coldest ride of the year; about 36 when I started and 32 at the end. Had my chemical foot warmers and hand warmers in, and used the lights for most of the ride.
My new winter road shoes got here today! It was a chore to find winter road cycling shoes in my size (37). I found them in the UK, for 1/2 off.
So now, I definitely have to ride tomorrow, after DH puts the cleats on. It will be a brisk high of about 35.

Yup first time this week. About 18 km. or less. Grocery shopping, visiting my favourite creme puff place. :)

There's still abit of ice on the road edges. About near freezin' temperatures. We had a snow dump over 1 wk. ago.

Probably will get more by next weekend. So every opportunity now..!

I'm chicken to risk crashing my new, $2000+ road bike on the still somewhat icy roads etc. My crappy bikes have slicks, too.

I'm already tired of riding on the trainer lol.

It only just topped 30 degrees today. Too cold for me.

Rode 14 miles, ending just after dark. It was 41°F with a wind. I had to ride because a friend gave me these (yes, the full dozen), and with the kid away at school, I'm alone in the house with them!

Fortunately, it is a little warmer here- after our chilly start to the week, temps were more normal for Arizona. We started out around 8 am and it was in the mid-40's but it was above 60 when we finished at 11 am. Glad I didn't wear the thermal long sleeved jersey- I would have been roasting on the way home!
41 miles past the San Xavier Mission south of Tucson and back. As usual I was frequently left behind, but one of the stronger riders turned around and rode with me for about 8 miles when I fell off the group. I think I will make 4800 for the year- 250 to go and winter vacation starts next Friday afternoon!!

The alarm went off at 5:25, and I got right up after a great night's sleep, only to see it raining. That normally wouldn't stop me, but since the lbs ride was going an unfamiliar route with a big hill, I opted to stay in my stress free bed a little longer. It was the right decision.

I'm curious to hear if anyone turned out for it. Last couple of times it rained, it was me and 2 others, and that's it.

Did 23 miles today on the MTB/commuter from Bedford to Porter Square and back on the Minuteman Bikeway. Rode to Harvard Square on Thursday, so making good use of the bike path. Will take the road bike out tomorrow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by azfiddle

Fortunately, it is a little warmer here- after our chilly start to the week, temps were more normal for Arizona. We started out around 8 am and it was in the mid-40's but it was above 60 when we finished at 11 am. Glad I didn't wear the thermal long sleeved jersey- I would have been roasting on the way home!
41 miles past the San Xavier Mission south of Tucson and back. As usual I was frequently left behind, but one of the stronger riders turned around and rode with me for about 8 miles when I fell off the group. I think I will make 4800 for the year- 250 to go and winter vacation starts next Friday afternoon!!

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Can you send a bit of your weather up here, or can I come down there?

Winter hasn't actually started yet and I'm sick of it already. Can we skip everything until March?

Owlie,

you know you're welcome anytime, but I don't think I have much control over the weather! Good for you for getting out when it's colder. I will ride in the 40's but that's pretty much my limit. Not worth getting all that cold weather gear for the 10 days in the year I might need it! And I'm a wimp anyway.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by azfiddle

Owlie,

you know you're welcome anytime, but I don't think I have much control over the weather! Good for you for getting out when it's colder. I will ride in the 40's but that's pretty much my limit. Not worth getting all that cold weather gear for the 10 days in the year I might need it! And I'm a wimp anyway.

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I'm good to the 40s, maybe even to the freezing point if it's dry and there's no wind. I'm still working on the feet and hands thing. I've just had a harder time acclimating to the cold this year, because we've had an unusually mild November and I haven't been outside as much this year as I was at this time last year.

Not that it really matters, because I'm still stuck inside. I tried just under 30 minutes of resistance intervals, and my side was not happy with the higher resistance. I don't quite want to risk outdoor riding until I'm satisfied that it's healed.

Only 31 miles today, on a wine tasting tour. A lot of climbing - mostly fairly short hills but some very steep - and it's the first day of my period so I was crampy and tired and felt like crap, but I did it!

Going out today, in probably close to the coldest temperatures I've done a road ride. I've done a couple of early AM rides that were in the low 30s, but they were very short, 10 miles. And, I've done a couple of mountain bike rides in the high twenties.
But it's very clear and sunny, with no wind. I may try using my PI Amphib gloves again. I was spooked a few years ago when they got caught in the shifter. My solution has been a thin pair of Ibex wool glove liners under a light weight/vented pair of full fingered gloves that are a size too big, with the addition of a chemical warmer when it's really cold. This way the gloves are thin and there's room for the warmer. But, the cheap warmers we bought a couple of years ago are running out of juice... am in the process of ordering more (different brand), as the x country ski season is approaching. Yesterday, I noticed my fingers getting cold near the end of my ride. When I got home the warmers were cold!

I was wondering if you were still going out, Crankin. It's cold! I love it. I wore a similar glove combo, Ibex liner, some crazy hard core Specialized men's outer layer. I made perfect clothes choices for once. I wore my new LG Oslo tights, which I was really skeptical about when I put them on, and the chamois went north. I ended up wearing a pair of Barely There underwear underneath, and that worked great. Kept the chamois in check, felt comfortable, and now I don't have to wash the tights after every ride.

I also wore an Ibex woolie, under one of their jerseys, and my warmest winter jacket. Lake boots with wool socks. A wool buff and a wool cap under my helmet.

Just 20 miles or so, but it felt great.

I've gone to my Ibex tights for this kind of riding, although they were bought for skiing. My regular fleece beanie is fine for my head and yesterday i had to wear a sleeveless base layer with a mid weight fleece lined jersey, because with my heaviest jacket (a Gore jacket I bought from Bluetree), I sweat like crazy. Today, I will wear my LS Craft base layer, though and maybe a jersey that is a little heavier. I also might wear my cycling knickers under my tights, instead of shorts.