Weekend Rides: Sept 7

I got in a beautiful, if quite windy, 3 hour mixed urban/rural ride this morning. The actual riding time was closer to 2.5 hours as I took a break in the middle and visited with some friends, but did manage to get in close to 33 miles. Also did some hill climbing which was fun! It was a bit cool so I dressed in layers, though as soon as I climbed the hill on Noel the windbreaker went into my trunk bag. The wind was so strong at some points of the ride that I was crawling at 8mph on the flat! Most of the time it wasn't that bad though.

The weather was beautiful, if chilly and was thankful to have brought out my wool for the first time since spring. I also experimented with my nutrition since I've been in the process of going Paleo and this was the first time I've had a 3 hour ride without extra carbs - whether in the form or Heed or shot blocks. I did have those things with me just in case, but my body was happy with a banana at the turn around point and a bit of organic jerky (no nitrates). Indeed at the end of my somewhat windy 33 miles I felt like I could have gone out again. Very pleased with my energy levels on the ride, and I just had my normal breakfast - it may have only been 33 miles but with that wind I expended quite a lot of energy.

I've been shy of hill climbing this summer and finally figured out why today. After the whiplash injury hill climbing HURT my neck and connected bits, so I had to start avoiding hills. It took all of winter and a good part of spring to get over that injury - and even now if I've been doing too much my neck will flare. No wonder I've been less bold in the hills than I once was! Obviously I need to listen to my body, but there is only one way to get back to my old boldness in climbing - and that is to do it.

We were supposed to lead a ride today and only one person signed up, so I cancelled it. This is weird, for this time of year.
So, we headed out with our friends to do another ride. It used to be 27 miles, but from their house it was just shy of 39. Weather was not too warm (74-80), but very humid and windy at times. The beginning of the ride is pretty, takes us through my old neighborhood and my first commute to work, into Stow and Bolton, and then into Hudson where there is a good hill up and down on a main road that is in crappy condition. I haven't been on this road in a long time, maybe 3 years. Once we get past there, we get into a more rural area again, another nice hill, and stop at the Old Grist Mill by Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury. I have many happy childhood memories of this place, as we used to go here on "Sunday drives" with my grandparents. We had a snack and watched some newlyweds get pictures taken in front of the mill.
The rest of the ride takes us through a nature preserve area by a lake, apple orchards, and a pretty tough climb that I haven't done in awhile. We ride up to the orchard on other rides, but usually take a different, and shorter climb to get back. Anyway, once we got within 7 miles of being back to our friend's house, I had to stop and eat a Shot Block. I felt horrible during almost the whole ride, due to allergies and asthma a little bit. This has been bugging me ever since I recovered from that sinus infection a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, that cold front is coming through tonight and should sweep out all of the allergens. I feel much better after eating lunch, though.

I did a supported ride today, the Tour of Cyuna, here in northern Minnesota. It started out cold and I wore tights and jacket. The ride was just short of 75 miles (odometer says 74.45). This is my longest ride to date. There were too many rest stops and I ate too much. Five stops! Rural Minnesota knows how to do the food. French toast at the first stop. Banana splits at another. Pork barbecue at the end with many homemade desserts. Good food for not a lot of riders, maybe a couple hundred at most.

It was a very tough ride. The wind came up half way through and I battled thirty miles of headwind. The last five miles were tough enough that I questioned whether I could finish. I ended up pokey slow because of the wind. And that was with drafting a guy for close to 20 miles. Nice guy! I couldn't pull him but he was happy to pull me.

Saw two trumpeter swans, seven sandhill cranes, a flock of about 20 wild turkeys and numerous hawks. We had two deer run out in front of us, a near miss for us and truck driving the other direction. Scary.

Now I am lying in the motorhome, sore, tired and a bit nauseated from eating too much.

First serious ride with my new "team"- sponsored by a Kia dealer - Team Soul (after the Kia Soul). We had a more casual ride last Sunday. Today, there were 21 riders but they split into two groups with a longer and shorter option. I took the long ride - 52 miles to the north and west of Tucson. We did a lot of pacelining, it wasn't super hilly (1200 feet of climbing altogether), and I ended up with a speedy (for me) 16.0 mph average. I know a few of the gals already but am getting to know most of them. I'm still in the slow end of the group (at least for the long ride), but there is a lot of cooperation and it's no-drop. We are starting to train for El Tour de Tucson in November.

DH and I did a 24-mile "gravel grinder" on our cross bikes today. It was a mixture of roads, dirt/gravel roads, and singletrack, and ~70% was off-road. I think we managed a 10 mph average over 24 miles. We rolled out and rolled back in at the same time as the local club's Sunday morning ride, and they did twice the miles in the same time :D

I'm quite pleased with how I did- my cross bike is my commuter and sports a set of 32mm slick tires, rather than the cross knobbies that are preferable for this course. I managed to stay upright the whole time and only walked a couple of sections, including one that I couldn't have climbed on my mountain bike :eek:

The 35mm cross knobbies were ordered today ;)

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Originally Posted by Becky

DH and I did a 24-mile "gravel grinder" on our cross bikes today. It was a mixture of roads, dirt/gravel roads, and singletrack, and ~70% was off-road. I think we managed a 10 mph average over 24 miles. We rolled out and rolled back in at the same time as the local club's Sunday morning ride, and they did twice the miles in the same time :D

I'm quite pleased with how I did- my cross bike is my commuter and sports a set of 32mm slick tires, rather than the cross knobbies that are preferable for this course. I managed to stay upright the whole time and only walked a couple of sections, including one that I couldn't have climbed on my mountain bike :eek:

The 35mm cross knobbies were ordered today ;)

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Sounds like you had a lot of fun :) I am considering a similar ride on my mountain bike in March - IF I can find a partner as the event requires. Glad you had fun!

I did a 70-mile ride today. It was gorgeous, and I was planning on doing 60-62, except that I overshot my turnaround point (a particular mile marker spray-painted on the trail) because it was covered with leaves and I couldn't see it. (Only overshot it by...four miles!) Stopped for lunch (and tea and a scone!) around mile 46. My knee is distinctly not happy with me. Sigh. The good news is that that's the only thing that's not happy. :D

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Sounds like you had a lot of fun :) I am considering a similar ride on my mountain bike in March - IF I can find a partner as the event requires. Glad you had fun!

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Is that the graveyard ride you mentioned in another thread? Too bad we're so far apart....I would totally do that ride!

We decided to take the day off from riding and go take a walk on the beach. So we went up to Rye, NH, walked a little, and then we decided to go to Portsmouth.
And this is what we found: The Portsmouth Criterium. It was fun; we saw 2 cats race. Then we went back and walked about 2 miles on the beach.

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Originally Posted by Becky

Is that the graveyard ride you mentioned in another thread? Too bad we're so far apart....I would totally do that ride!

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Yes, it is a race, but I wouldn't be doing it to "race" or even complete it. I doubt I would be ready for that - it is a brutal course. I would love, however, to just ride to a couple of the cemeteries and participate in the associated festivities :) I am still having some whiplash issues, especially when climbing, but hoping that things will be further calmed down by then and I can find a partner with my same goals. I'll need to start some kind of "training" this winter - just to get accustomed to gravel riding!

Pity you aren't closer - that would be great!

I biked out on the Katy Trail to meet the Long Road Home Project. 5 vets biking from Washington State to Washington DC to raise awareness of the obstacles they face returning home after serving overseas. Junior & Steve are paraplegic, they ride hand cycles. Ryan has a Ride 2 Recovery bike (a program that gets bikes to vets as part of their recovery). They have such interesting stories, not only from their ride across the nation but from their lives. PTSD, MST (military sexual trauma), physical injuries have profoundly impacted their lives.

I was instrumental in letting them know about the Katy Trail and getting them in touch with the group that hosted them in Columbia so I was really excited to bike with them as they came into town. This is such a touching cause and they have blown away their fundraising goals.

Started a new assignment (i am a contractor in IT) which has kept me pretty busy... Weather finally cooled off and Saturday was my chance to get back out on two wheels! Did just over ten miles to stretch out my legs a bit. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable in the saddle after five miles, so at the half way point I took a brief rest on a bench, which was right near the runway where Airport Days and a bunch of old planes that were flying around.

Refreshed and hydrated I finished the ride, setting a personal best time on the ride back, but was feeling quite tender in the sit bone area. This morning we had planned a longer ride, but the sit bones felt very tender just like it was bruised, so begged off a ride that was sure to be quite uncomfortable. I'd never had this happen, even when I first started riding, so I'm thinking I may need to adjust the saddle on my hybrid. I have the same saddle on my roadie and have never gotten sore.

I rode 21 miles yesterday. The weather was gorgeous (78f) and I spent four hours outside. Two of those hours riding and two hours visiting with family and friends. It was a blessed day!!!:rolleyes:

I did the St. Paul Classic yesterday with my best cycling buddy. 41 miles through the - mostly closed hilly streets of St. Paul - along the Mississippi River, past lakes... on an absolutely beautiful autumn day here in the Cities. Temps at the start were around mid-50's and warmed to mid-60's by the end of our ride; bright blue sky, crisp air. Gorgeous. :)

My family was on vacation in Bastrop, TX this last weekend. My dad and I took our bikes and did 20 VERY hilly miles. I've been doing 50-60 mile rides on the weekends here in Houston pretty easily but Holy hills, Batman. The 20 miles in the hill country shredded my legs much more than usual. I'm trying for a century on relatively flat terrain this weekend, but need to find a way to get in more hill training in the future after my poor performance this past weekend.