I haven't even ridden yet, just starting the thread! Planning to get out a little later this morning when it's warmer.
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I haven't even ridden yet, just starting the thread! Planning to get out a little later this morning when it's warmer.
My first ride in May was my commute today. It's really nice out, after 2-3 days of cold rain. It was about 52 when I left for work at 9, and really humid, as we actually had a thunderstorm about 10 PM last night. I did not sweat a bit on my way in. I left to come home at around 12:30-12:45 and it's about 65, with a wind that is kind of stiff at times. The sun is in and out. By the time I got to my street, before I went up the hill, I had the jersey and vest unzipped, and the arm warmers pushed down. Yet, I saw some wearing full winter gear. I don't like to be cold, but maybe it was the humidity that had me sweating. A big 10.4 miles, but I feel like I worked.
I rode my bike in the trainer after work yesterday - Hillacious. It was about 93 degrees when I got off work, hard to head outside when it's that hot!
Veronica
V - I am shaking my head. It's been SO COLD, and SO RAINY here, that I think I would take the 93 degrees!
Went out last night for a ride that ended up being beautiful in so many ways. First, I stopped to help a little boy who had his helmet on backwards. We turned it around, and he was SO EXCITED to let me know that he and his friend were racing, and when the got to the big puddle, they lifted their feet, and rode right through! Then, it was so beautiful out, I actually stripped my gloves and my arm warmers off. A bit further down the road, I bumped into a really good friend, and we stood and chatted for probably a good half hour. Her daughter committed suicide about a year and a half ago, so we chatted about that, and my brother (approaching the five year anniversary of his suicide). I left continuing on my ride, and instead of being sad or melancholy, I realized how happy I was - I thought of my brother and the good memories we had, I thought of my friend and her daughter, and both brought a smile to my face. As I passed daffodils and tulips finally in bloom after a long, cold, snowy winter, I smiled some more and thought of my beloved grandma.
Traffic was pleasant, other riders were waving back at me, the sun was out, and I really was just enjoying the ride. Later, I passed a farm and the smells reminded me of time spent on my aunt's farm, bringing more smiles. When I got home, I was so relaxed and happy. DH asked how my ride was, and my answer was - BEAUTIFUL.
I forget, with all of the training and racing, to sometimes just appreciate the beauty of the ride. Last night reminded me how important that was.
SheFly (who is just in from another glorious day of riding, but with a bit more purpose, as tomorrow is another race day)
I love riding my bike after work when it's 93 degrees. I will rejoice when I finally get the chance to do it again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronica
Last night was weight training night for me, but I enjoyed the walk to the gym and back. Tomorrow I'll be leading a metric century on a multi-class club ride. I think I will probably want arm warmers to start, and maybe knee warmers, but at some point I should be down to just a short-sleeved jersey and shorts.
I'm sad. DH went to replace the shifters on my Kuota and in the process, discovered my rear brake is shot. These brakes are pretty old and so I always think that when it feels less grippy than my Guru, it's because the Guru has a version that are 5 years newer. Then, DH went and checked his Kuota, and it's pretty much the same thing. Obviously, we do regular maintenance, replace pads, cables, etc. as we ride a good amount. DH broke down and is on the phone with the LBS to see if they have what we need, instead of ordering them on line. I really want to ride the Kuota tomorrow on a group ride for other leaders, as I just feel I have better skills in a group with this bike. Not that I haven't used the Guru on group rides, but's that's usually when big climbs are involved and tomorrow is not one of those. I think I said last week the Kuota is starting to show its age... not that I need a new carbon bike, but I need to spend some money here.
ETA: We bought the brakes, and they are installed on both Kuotas.Poor DH worked from about 3:30 PM to 8 PM on the shifters on my bike and both brakes. He has to miss the ride for leaders tomorrow because our dryer is dying and we are getting a new one (and a new washer) delivered between 4 and 6. He'll make the dinner, though.
The husband and I rode just shy of ten miles today. I wanted to ride a little further but the sky got really dark and we had a few passing sprinkles and the wind picked up. Of course, by the time we got home the sun came back out (and then a little later clouded up and rained again - gotta love Maine weather) It felt great to be out and I finally got up the courage to ride over the railroad tracks with the road bike. I know it's a silly thing, but I'm slowly gaining confidence in my abilities :)
I got my 32.5 miles in today (on the DOT!) to make my 2000 miles for the year so far. Yay! But more than that, it was a glorious day, sunny, bright, and (of course) breezy, and we tried a different route today that we regretted not trying sooner. It was gorgeous, with rolling hills, and fewer stoplights/stop signs than most of our rides here. The houses, yards, flowers, trees, were all so pretty, and the grass so green. Truly a wonderful day to be alive! Here's just a bit of what I saw along Lee Blvd. in Leawood, KS, where we rode today....
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Looks like a beautiful ride Emily :)
I did ten yesterday and thirty today. wonderful weather.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F...0/100_3382.JPG
The City Of New Orleans
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...0/100_3385.JPG
Beale St. Music festival:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...0/100_3386.JPG
The Peabody Hotel:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...0/100_3391.JPG
Need a guitar? or tickets to game 7 tonight?
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-g...0/100_3390.JPG
Civil Rights Pioneer:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-m...0/100_3388.JPG
Underpass on Barksdale street, near where my grandparent's house was:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-J...0/100_3403.JPG
I commuted twice last week on the new Salsa Vaya 3 and I love it. I took it out today on a 15 mile ride (had to get something in before the downpour and chores took over the rest of the day.) I am happy with it. it's actually pretty zippy for the weight.
Today we did two rides. First was just up to the farmer's market before breakfast -- < 7 miles round trip. After a big pancake breakfast back at the ranch, we did a long road ride. It was finally shorts and SS jersey weather, and for the first time this spring, I think, there was hardly ANY wind. Beautiful day! I got in 47.8 miles on that ride. And just to show that eastern KS is not flat, here's a sign we saw after climbing one of the monster hills just west of the KC area...
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Hope everyone is having a nice Saturday! I'm thinking a recovery ride tomorrow will be in order...trying to think of a flatter route to do!
I have friends that run in KC all the time and my "in laws" run there quite a bit. They have all said "NOT FLAT". It's like here. Everyone thinks MO is flat but CoMo is anything but. Jeff is worse!
We rode about 41 and some miles today! Yay for us. I got injured in softball last night. I took a ball to the jaw and am BRUISED. Thankfully it's hide-able or else everyone would think my mild-mannered SO was abusing me. I was bleeding yesterday night but I still played and got a run! Yay! I'm hopeless but I hit well last night. We decided to get a big breakfast and TRY to ride. What a beautiful day! We got to our destination, ate a corndog, and then rode back. Tried to stop at the new microbrewery on the way home but it was nothing but frat boys. So annoying and they were taking tables without using them which is just stupid behavior. We turned home and I ended up with a Lagunitas limited release Cappuccinno Stout. So fun. We paced slow today (between 13 and 14) on purpose because the trail was BUSY and I was injured.
I was glad I sucked it up and did it, though, because I had an awesome ride.
Got very wet, even on a short ride. It wasn't raining when we started, and then it drizzled, and then it really rained. Practice for tomorrow's group ride, perhaps. I am taking the Friday, because it's the only bike I've got with fenders. I figure the extra workout won't do me any harm, and it has more gears than the other bikes anyway.
I'll actually be riding the same route as a few weeks back, so I'm curious whether there is a difference in the speed between the two bikes.
My ride today was crazy. This was for leaders, and there were supposed to be 2 rides, a 20 and 30 mile ride. There were only 10 people, so we set out to do 26. It was lightly raining when we left, had my Showers Pass jacket on. We stopped, so we could take jackets off, etc. and when I unzipped my jacket, the zipper pull disappeared. I mean it's gone. Since the zipper on one of the pit zips is stuck in open, this jacket is going in the trash. It will cost more to fix it than to get a new one on a discount site. Boo. There was a mix of abilities, but it was really nice out and pleasant, until halfway, when right when we went up the only bigger hill of the ride, one guy said he was struggling, recovering from bronchitis. The leader is a super experienced guy, but he has a bad sense of direction, even with a gps... he missed 2 turns before this. Anyway, I told him a slightly shorter, flatter way to get back to his own house, and I started leading. I turned off of a main road to take a short cut to another main road, and somehow he missed us. Anyway, we all got back, in a couple of different groups, but I ended up a little more sweaty than I planned.
The food was good at the party afterwards. DH joined me for the dinner, as he had to stay home to await our new washer and dryer. I think it was about 25 miles... I took the gps off the course and I pressed so many things on that screen, I don't even know what I did.
Today's ride started with a discussion about training and nutrition by a pro rider for Team Cloud who is also a coach for several of our team members. Then we had drills with cones and water bottles to practice bike handling skills and a some pace line practice. Our group seemed woefully undisciplined today on the paceline, which seemed quite surprising as there are so many of us who are experienced at riding in pacelines. Some of the ladies went on up Mt. Lemmon but I had to turn back early to get home for the Tucson Folk Festival this afternoon. So it was only about 19 miles. Maybe tomorrow will be ride on the mountain.
The coach had good suggestions and offered to preview some of the future rides and point out some areas where we might want to practice group skills for the future.
I had a great ride today. It was a big multi-class club ride with three distances to choose from, and I lead the B group on the metric route. Except I rode sweep at the low end of the B pace while most everyone else was a high-B rider. And I was delayed leaving two of the rest stops (trying to get my wool Kneekers off over my bike shoes at one and needing eye drops for my pollen-irritated contact lenses at another). So most of my group were too far up the road for me to see for most of the ride, and I rode alone for some of it. But the weather was near perfect and we had fun. There were 23 of us in all -- too many for one person to manage, but there were enough experienced ride leaders in the group to help make sure everyone rode without any major incidents.
I took a couple of short-cuts so I ended up riding 58 miles rather than 62. It was still my longest ride of the year so far. My legs were a bit tired mid-way through the ride but at the end they actually felt pretty good. And I averaged 14.2 mph, which is faster than most of the rides I've done lately.
With our club, you earn a ride leader's jersey if you lead at least six rides in a year. Today was my first day wearing the jersey that I earned last year. It's a nice Louis Garneau jersey.
Rode over the Santa Monica Mountains to Simi Valley. The hardest part of the ride was Black Canyon Rd leaving Chatsworth and Box Canyon Rd back into Chatsworth. Black Canyon was just a brutal climb for me. Even the descent was difficult. It was so hard that Box Canyon seemed like a recovery ride. I stopped for stretching, fluids and calling to make a massage appointment at the top of Black Canyon. It got into the 90’s by early afternoon and that made me happy we weren’t on either of those canyon roads then and on the descent off the SM mountains to Pacific Coast Highway.
82 miles.
http://rchauvin.smugmug.com/Other/Ap.../0/L/box-L.jpg
Meh, just went to meet friends for a nice hilly ride and it's raining. It wasn't supposed to start until much later. It's also windy and not so warm out. We turned around. There might be a window to do a short ride in a bit, but right now, I am drinking more coffee.
two nice rides on Friday afternoon and yesterday afternoon. Both we ended up being wet from rain. Friday was bad! Lots of rain and cold, and super windy. Took the afternoon off from work to ride and we had to cut it short. Yesterday just a few drizzles and we closed the garage door just on time before the big storm. Whouhou! But again had to cut it short! Blah!
Today, no way to go for a ride. Still raining strong. blah. Where is the nice weather? But at least yesterday I met a friend who was walking her 2 dogs in the grass while we were on the path. Nice chat and different than in work environment. People (cars and those on paths) were very nice and giving us the space we needed. Trees are starting to get the leaves (well the buds) out. We're behind in the season. Can't wait to ride a beautiful Saturday morning with just the sun, some cool weather and come back relaxed and smiley instead of stressed and upset about weather..again... lol
Wow, RebeccaC! Those are some two climbs you did! Brutal.
We did our monthly 100k tandem ride yesterday on my favorite route AND saw the yearling filly we'd seen as a new foal a year ago! I thought you all might like to see her--Attachment 17076Attachment 17077
Windy is an understatement! Just back from 47 miles. It rained, and felt like it might turn to sleet at one point! The wind was brutal in every direction, too. Still good to get out, and the sun did shine for a little bit. Guess I didn't need that sunscreen on my arms though - never took the arm warmers off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
SheFly
Salsabike,
As a former equestrienne, I think that's so cool!
I took my "horse" out today on about a 14 mile ride. Brings me up to about 94-95 miles for the week. Not too shabby despite AWFUL weather. I led our group once on the way there and back and then hung back for some riders pacing slower and worked on resistance. This is the women's group in town I look forward to riding with all week so it was awesome. Now, I'm back at my office about to dissertate some more while the SO works a Sunday shift. Beautiful weekend for riding and feeling great. This is how I know I am getting back into good shape. I can ride three straight days with some high mileage and do great.
After another aborted attempt (I was putting my shoes on, looked up, and it was pouring), I got out and did the shortest loop possible from my house, 8 miles. I did wear my old rain jacket, since the demise of the newer, expensive one on yesterday's ride. As soon as I started climbing Strawberry Hill, I knew I should have taken a rest day. Anyway, I had it all, rain, gusts of wind so bad I was blown into the middle of the road, and sun. While I did get my average up to a decent speed for me, I was lagging way behind DH. I am glad I went out, as DH said, where else can you get an 8 mile ride and climb 500+ feet?
I should rest tomorrow, but it's boot camp day. Probably no rest until next Friday. Weather not looking good for our club ride we are leading next weekend.
Wow, sounds like nearly everyone had bad weather this weekend! Not here in KC...we had it last week, but this weekend has been GORGEOUS.
Today was a recovery ride for me, 30 miles, and I avoided all the hills I could. I stopped frequently to take photos of flowers and such. My legs felt kinda sluggish, but not as bad as I thought after yesterday's hard effort.
For those of you suffering in rain and still-not-quite spring, here are a few of the photos I took today as I rode around.
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We are supposed to have glorious weather until Thursday. By then I'll be ready for rain and a day off the bike.
Sorry about your jacket, crankin. Sucks when something like that happens!
Windy here too, flags straight out and bitingly cold. Group of six, but I was the snail. The slower riders didn't show today (I am usually well ahead of them), and I was riding my Bike Friday, which is a lot heavier than the regular road bike. And I was probably just feeling slow. But it's the only bike I have with fenders and the forecast said it might rain.
It didn't, but it never really warmed up either.
It has been wet light snow, melting on ground and some light rain the whole day. :( However unlike yesterday, I bicycled more today --a grand total of probably 12 km. The ride was interspersed with 2 public outdoor art walks ..in recognition of Jane's Walks worldwide. Jane Jacobs was a Canadian who became known for her theories on urban livability for better urban planning --ie. walkable, vibrant cities and neighbourhoods.
a very leisurely ride through the venice beach alleys to photograph some of the street art etc. and then to the farmers market. going to ride to my fellowship meeting soon and then spend the night catching up on some of my work. The past few days of heat broke and it was a delightful low 70's today with a cool breeze from the ocean.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7068/...de89d7d0_c.jpg
salsabike....nice image, she's a beautiful filly!!...i just luv the greenness of the PNW....maybe not the rain that keeps it that way though:)
I think I will title this, "why we plank" or something like that, to bad the DH didn't get the shot when I was under the fence. Am sending to the Wilderness Ranger as we aren't so sure this fence is legal - no gate and it is BLM land, not private land. Another terrific ride in the Owyhee Desert. Flowers were out in force. Only saw one snake (bull snake) Did some riding in the dark and saw numerous little desert pack rats. Spooked a herd of deer while stopped to admire a herd of Antelope - crazy.
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Glad you're going to bring this fence to the ranger's attention, Sky King. That doesn't seem right if it's BLM land.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky King
Love the photo!
Hahaha, Skyking.
Got 20 miles in QUICK today averaged 15 mph on the way there, slightly higher on the way back. The BF and I were both just like, "Let's GO!". I got another 5 in on the commute so YAY for 25 miles.
Went out on the MTB last night. Trails I can ride blind folded. Ended up crashing HARD not once, but TWICE! I NEVER crash. I was pretty embarrassed about it. Thankfully fine, just a banged up knee and a bruised ego ;). The best was trying to make it uphill into a feature we call the "gravity cavity", not quite making it, and falling over backwards like a turtle. I'm sure it was a sight.
SheFly
Ouch, SheFly! Glad it wasn't too bad. I am about to go give blood (which pretty much rules out any real exercise the rest of the day) but managed to get out for a quick ride this morning. Trying to figure out the Cyclemeter app on the iPhone but not sure how accurate it is (top speed was supposedly 45.45 mph...I know there was one long descent where I got going pretty fast but not sure it was THAT fast). Total distance 9.85 miles, 313 ft elevation.
Were you blindfolded? :D I want a picture of the gravity cavity. That's a great name.Quote:
Originally Posted by SheFly
Veronica
I felt like I might have been given how I was riding! I'll have to go back and get a pick of the gravity cavity. It's a fun feature that can be ridden in either direction, though harder in the direction we did last night. I've fallen backwards there once before but MANY years ago! I was on the SS last night, and couldn't get my act together.
I say I can ride these trails blindfolded because DH and I built a lot of them, and I ride there A LOT. While not blindfolded, I have had to ride my way out in the dark with no light...
SheFly
Ouch, SheFly! I'm glad you're okay!
Rode out to the university and back before it got too hot.
A bike shop had a fire Sunday: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...ghland-street/
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-k...0/100_3404.JPG
Great 55-mile road ride today, my longest of the year. Quite windy but very warm. We rode far enough to actually get out into the "country" (hard to do from KC!) and got to see the coolest pair of birds -- Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers. So beautiful! Unfortunately only had my tiny 3x zoom camera, but you can still get an idea:
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Also out past very pretty Lake Olathe, and on the way back to Prairie Village stopped in a cool bike shop in historic downtown Lenexa as DH snapped his rear derailleur cable just a block from there (our guardian angel was definitely riding along as it couldn't have happened in a better place!) The owner also roasts and sells lovely coffee beans, so the shop smelled FINE. He offered us some fresh brew, but we were too warm (it was in the mid- to upper 80s today) to partake. The shop had a variety of very nice bikes, some of which the owner builds himself (steel). He also carries Surly, Kona, and a few others whose names I didn't recognize. Retro-looking jerseys, Brooks saddles, and such as well. Just a very high-caliber, interesting shop. Got to see my first Long Haul Trucker in the flesh! They fixed the cable for the price of parts only, perhaps since we also bought some Chain-L lube. Sweet!
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Finally, we stopped in at Sheridan's for a delicious concrete when almost home...thus negating all the calories we'd burned on the ride. So worth it, though!
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Wow Fredwina. That's too bad.
Cool ride, Emily!
Today I went on my first group ride with the "other" club I belong to. Not the one I lead for. The ride started in a hilly area I ride in frequently, and I really wanted to do the longer ride (42 miles), but it was also the fast group, and on this type of ride, I'd be dying with them. Overall, this group is social and not super fast, but I made a good decision. I rode 31 miles through Bolton, Harvard, Boxborough, Stow, and back to the leader's condo clubhouse, where we had a catered lunch in exchange for donations to the PMC. This was serious suffering for me, about 2500- 3K feet of climbing in my estimation and every big hill around. I stayed up front with the big boys, who actually were pushing it for the "moderate" group. They slowed a lot on the hills and I actually did my best here.
Glad I did this, because I need to get my azz in gear. It's gorgeous out. I rode in short sleeves and shorts, although I did have a sleeveless base layer on. Also, it was my first ride trying out Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix. It's a +1 for me. No aftertaste and no stomach pain. Very light and fresh. I had decided to go with the Nuun R Naturals for an electrolyte only product, since it is so much cheaper than the Skratch electrolytes. I hate the flavors of the Nuun r Naturals... just don't like Chai and Acai, but I'll use them, since I use those more than the Hydration mix.