outside for us who have mild weather or commute/ride regardless of the weather and inside trainer miles/experiences for those who don't want to venture outside
Printable View
outside for us who have mild weather or commute/ride regardless of the weather and inside trainer miles/experiences for those who don't want to venture outside
Where is this rain coming from??????????????? Every weather forecast for days has said clear skies and seasonably warm all the way until the weekend. Now all of a sudden as I'm about to change and go for a bike ride, there's rain all over the place. And more rain tomorrow.
I could have gone for a ride last night if I'd known. But no, they kept it a secret.
I am not riding in the dark when it's raining and the temperature is dropping from the low 60s and there are leaves all over the ground.
Dammit.
I wonder why I didn't notice the November thread...
That is weird, NY. No rain here, and clear skies, warm weather. I think there may be rain predicted for late tomorrow night, though.
Riding on wet leaves, no!
It's coming up from the south. I'm hoping it's done in time to get out and ride tomorrow night. At least it will still be warm.
Why is it that long-range forecasts of terrible weather are always accurate, but forecasts of great weather are often overly optimistic?
Just doing small rides to work and back, plus minor food shopping using bike. Temp. is 0 degrees C or abit higher.
Whereas in Vancouver it will be over 50 mm of rain in 1 day..will be there eventually. We'll be in Seattle and may not even bring our bikes onto train.
Wow Shootingstar, that is cold for November, at least compared to what I'm used to. I was not made for colder climates.
I did get out and ride after work last night. It was in the mid 60s and humid, the kind of weather where you warm up going uphill and then feel a bit of a chill going downhill. The rain had cleared out early in the day but the clouds lingered which limited the sunshine, so the road varied from totally dry to quite wet with everything in between. I took it slow on the turns in case of wet leaves. About a third of the way through the route I started to encounter fog in the low areas -- I think it was my first time riding in fog, definitely the first time after dark. Fortunately I was only riding through it for a couple of seconds at a time; if it had been constant I think I would have cut the ride short. When I finished the ride and took off my helmet, it was wet on the outside, so I guess conditions really were pretty damp.
I tried out a new pair of knee warmers on the ride. I got them for 50% off at the LBS. They were comfortable, but I really do not have the legs for that elastic at the top. Fine for riding, not so much if you're going to be walking around off the bike.
Next up for me will be a ride on Sunday afternoon. Current forecast calls for sunshine -- fingers crossed it doesn't change.
It's currently 73 degrees. Creepy, but nice.
I rode to Bedford to meet my friend, Jack, for a ride. We listed it as an AMC ride, but no one showed up. Instead 2 of his other riding friends showed. Knew I was in trouble with them. Off we went, and just about the time we got to my street, and my average was over 16, I told Jack I was going to go home, if he didn't slow. He was fine with that, and so were the others, but the woman just had to let me know this was her recovery ride, so she needed to slow, as she had already done 4 rides this week. Ha, I just wanted to not get dropped, and we were heading up Strawberry Hill. I also knew another very steep, short climb was coming. So, we slowed a little to a nice pace, and enjoyed the beautiful day. I know this is a sign of climate change, but it's nice for cyclists. Anyway, I did not want to go back to Bedford with them, so I peeled off at a certain point and headed home, retracing some of what I had already ridden. I ended up with 29.5 miles, so I am happy, and I didn't suffer too much! Doing a ride out to Bolton and Harvard tomorrow, so trying to keep my legs ready.
I finally got back on my bike after the block from hell! Did just over 10 miles on an unusually warm day (mid-upper 70's) with gusty winds and some spitting rain. I love riding through crunchy leaves - they're past their peak here, but still nice. Thankfully they weren't wet enough to be slick. I'm amazed at how much fitness I lost in a week and a half. Sigh. Back to it!
Rode 2.5 miles today, the longest I've gone since the knee replacement. I'm contemplating adding an electric assist to my bike just so I can go further than the little island we live on!
Yay!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pax
And welcome back, Blueberry!!
I know it's totally lame, but I rode 2.5 again today and I feel so good about it! Watch me go!!
Not lame at all!!! It's progress!! Woo hoo!!
I did a 37 mile very hilly ride. It was 61 and windy/cloudy when we left our friends' and house. I should have had my light long fingered gloves and toe covers. I rode my Guru today and it just felt heavy on the back end. We got to Bolton Farms to eat lunch and it was 5 degrees colder and we realized not fun to eat outside. I got chilled, but thankfully, we had a climb a after that. DH was really suffering today, in a way I rarely see.
Got back to our friends' and had tea and good conversation. I am exhausted. Glad I did it, but hoping I feel revived tomorrow.
I decided I would ride to yoga this morning. It's at 9:30, so I figured I'd leave at 8:30, give myself plenty of time to get there, do a bit of clothing re-arranging, and relax. Well, I had a moment of wavering if I was going to ride, but decided I would. Didn't realize it was later than I thought. The real feel temperature was 37, despite it being 42 out, so I put my heavy tights on, over my commuter capris, that look like any other yoga pants. Wore my yoga top, a winter jersey, and my winter riding jacket. Didn't leave until 8:45, felt pressured, as the class fills up and people run in to get a spot. Somehow, the ride that felt so easy and fast a few weeks ago, felt tiring. The club is about a mile past my new condo, and the road to it is a hill (of course). Got there at 9:20, ran in with my bike, which I stored in a closet, and got to class with time to spare. However, it was crowded. And, I was sweaty. But class was good. On the way home, I did not wear the tights, and stopped at the condo, where DH was doing work, and left my jacket in the car. It was already 52 or so. Looked goofy with my winter shoes, Woolie-Bullys, etc with my capris, but it was not a fashion show. And, did I mention my heated gloves. I needed the highest setting for the ride there, but didn't need even the lowest for the way back.
I actually looked at my Garmin for my mileage totals. I've been keeping track in writing in my journal, but, apparently, I made my least acceptable riding goal of 2,500 miles, probably last week. Pretty close to 2,600 today. Now I don't feel so badly. I won't make 3K, but maybe 2,700.
Sounds like you may just have been tired from the tough ride the day before, Crankin. That sounded like a doozy!
We just did our regular Sunday ride -- 21 miles including urban to/from the bike path, two loops on the path, and Sam's Club for a few items on the way back. It was hot, humid, and sunny. Still, I would rather have this than cold and blustery! But I must say that riding here is not that much fun. There are very few routes, so it gets boring. And the urban part is stressful for me because there are these strange speedbumps they have here that consist of a series of round metal humps (half spheres). There are two rows of them, one row offset from the other, and in order for a bike to go through, you have to angle so that you go in between on a diagonal. DH thinks nothing of them, but I am always so worried about hitting the humps as I'm not as good a bike handler, and my depth perception is not the best. I have managed to go over a hump a couple of times, and it's quite jarring, though I didn't fall like I thought I might. There are at least 6 of these that we have to traverse during this ride, and I dread them.
I had a really good ride today. I led a club ride on a route that I've done before. We rode just 39 miles, sort of a big loop and smaller loop that lets us pass the Chesapeake Bay twice. Great fall weather, mid 50s with sunshine, all in all just a nice ride and a nice day.
If the weather holds I'll be leading club rides again on Wednesday and Saturday this week. And yesterday I was working on a route for a ride later this month. Before I went to bed last night I actually had to check the club website to remind myself where I was going to this morning -- too many different routes in my head.
Sounds like a fun ride, ny! Good weather always helps.
This has been such an odd fall for me. Riding once a week is pathetic. We did get out on the pavement Saturday, We had no real plan but when we hit an intersection with a half marathon in process we decided to ride "against" the race instead of in the race as they were running with traffic on the side of the road - we thought that was a bit odd as traditional runners and walkers face traffic. Anyhow it was enjoyable as we rode a common route backwards, so to speak. Lots of wind so tucked home via the cemetery and some back roads. Sunday my BFF and I opted for a walk instead of a ride. Today she is having brain surgery to remove 3 tumors, my mind is certainly elsewhere as I type this.
So glad you're doing better, Sheila! Did not realize that had happened to you. How did you hurt your arm?
Happy to hear you're back in the saddle. :)
This is the toughest part of the year riding outdoors as much as possible, trying to hit the 3,000 mile mark before the end of the year. Yet hitting spin classes when the temperature are too low, wet or when I don't have time to wait for the temps to rise.
I did a 35 mile ride Saturday with my women's cycling group. I'm always the slowest one so I was spared seeing an accident in the front group. One of the riders is a little bit high strung and inattentive. She rode between two others and touched bars- one of them stayed upright but she and (I think) one of the other women went down. I got there and a few cars were stopped- a man in a big pickup truck kindly offered to take the two of them back to the start. At that point "L" couldn't put any weight on her leg and I was thinking some kind of fracture... We didn't call an ambulance- possibly should have but she went straight to the ER. Her injuries included a fractured sacrum and inferior and superior ramus. I think she had a torn muscle as well. Ouch!! After they left, I had to sit down for a minute because I get light headed just thinking about it. Then someone else went back with derailleur issues and someone else left early so it was just 3 of us.
I suggested we add in the 8 mile loop at Saguaro National Park instead of just stopping for water and halfway around I realized how close I was cutting it for getting back - I was scheduled to perform at the Tucson Celtic Festival. So I ended up with a few PR's on strava (which I only use when my Garmin battery isn't charged) but made it back in time.
Much more eventful than the usual Saturday ride. 6-8 weeks recovery time for my friend- plus wheelchair and then a walker to get around for a while. She's also a teacher and I can't imagine trying to be a middle school teacher with that limitation :(
Sunday's ride was much better than Saturday's. I was signed up for a century but opted to drop down to the 66 mile option - when I got to the start I decided I just didn't want to spend my whole day on a bike. Also, one of the sections for the longer route is very rough pavement and goes through a lot of depressing trailers where I always imagine people are inside cooking meth. At my speed (13.5- 14.5 average) it most likely would have taken me at least 7 hours. So my friend and I had a good ride although we battled the wind for most of the second half and got back for lunch when the fast riders were finishing the century. It was cool but not cold (around 50) to start, and in the 70's midday. Last time I did the full century, the food was about gone and they were taking down the SAG station when I rolled in (nearly last if not completely last...)
I went to spin class today. Bah. It's cold, damp, raining. But, the good thing is that the club ride I was going to do was moved to Friday, another work-free day for me.
Spin at my new club is harder and better, but, going at 9:30 AM, well, you find yourself surrounded by the "housewives." I pretty much ignore them, and the least the instructor kept telling people to pay attention to themselves, which means no talking.
I wore my US Marines bike jersey for Veterans' Day and not one person acknowledged it.
Oh man, I feel her pain! :( That's similar to the fractures I had except mine was my ilium and the two rami on the right side. Non weight-bearing for eight weeks, wheelchair/walker, back to work after nine weeks (and limping a lot), but thank the gods I had a desk job. I hope she can sit a lot while teaching until she's fully recovered.Quote:
Originally Posted by azfiddle
It's a slow road back. I rode on the trainer before I was weight-bearing and even did a 50-mile event four months out, but I've never really been the same since. Close, but not quite. I still have some residual scar tissue or something deep in that right buttock that sometimes gets achy even ten years after the fact, and all the PT, rest, ice, and ibuprofen in the world doesn't really make much difference. It mostly helps just to stay active. Foam rolling is helpful too.
I hope your friend will not have as many after-effects as I have over the years.
Wow, I'm kinda surprised at that. Facebook is absolutely lit up with Veterans' Day memes today.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
That should tell you something about the kind of people in the class. Usually, when I wear it on rides, other women get nervous, that I was in the Marines, and I am going to drop them! At the least, I get a lot of questions.
Of course, I was also the only one wearing a bike jersey...
You've just described the reasons I don't do full centuries anymore. I have a friend who doesn't care that he's the last to finish, with the post-ride picnic over before he gets there, because he loves spending all day on the bike. But I enjoy it more when I do shorter routes, usually a metric.Quote:
Originally Posted by azfiddle
Best wishes to your friend on her recovery.
I had the day off today (well our client was closed so we weren't allowed to work, but my employer was open so I had to take a vacation day, but anyway), so I led a 40-mile ride for the bike club. It was nice to do a daytime ride on a day when I would usually be going out in the dark after work. One of my friends co-led for another ride category, a slightly slower group. Yesterday's club ride was cancelled because of rain, so I expected a good group, and in total we had about 20 people. It was a nice route through farmland with a visit to a local park on the Patuxent River.
As I was driving to the ride start, just before I arrived there, the odometer on my car reached 100,000 miles. Seems nice for my car to reach that milestone on my way to a fun bike ride with friends.
I want to ride through lots of rural fall color!!!!!
Azfiddle….i got lightheaded just reading that…..hoping your friend has a lot of positive moments on her healing journey!!!! The Tucson Celtic Festival looks like a good weekend...i like the idea of a welsh baker's tearoom too. It must be good to have the Festivals influence in the community….and good for your enjoyment of playing :)
I’m getting comfortable riding in downtown l.a. now. Took me awhile to get the traffic patterns/moves and know the streets/alleys. I don’t have vision’s of messengers in S.F. yet…..but I have met some interesting messengers. We go to meetings in downtown a few times a month…. frequently meeting with some there that have ridden/walked to the office so that works. Ellie wanted to ride more so we've done a few rides to meetings. We work close to the beach so it’s beach path to a series of paths going downtown to bike lanes and then city streets. It’s nice to have the miles of path going home to go slow and talk about work etc or if by myself just enjoy the ride. I waaaannnt that nice later sunset light back especially for weekend rides. After sunset the path’s are mostly softer light with a couple of interesting dark sections. It gives me an appreciation of looking through the dark with a headlight. ……..anyway we had a great ride on Monday. Perfect first stop for tea and a lemon ginger scone/breadfast oakmeal cookie to go, then we rode into an early meeting. We planned a few hours of being at the moca museum and eating something. That gave us a ride up some city hills and through some really busy streets where you just have to be calm…..which also gives me time to see photo opportunities or just stop and take one. A later meeting went really long so we had dinner near the start of the path and had a couple of short interval challenges on the way home to just tease each other. Just 46 miles but interesting miles and day...with pleasant weather as a bonus. Looking forward to the next ride.
moca mirrors
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/735/2...6fb31a48_c.jpg
Did a nice 23.5 mile ride today, with my friend and DH. Friend's husband was leaving for a business trip, so off we went. We pretty much stayed at her pace (slow), although I went ahead for part of the ride, just a little. DH is hurting from all the work he did at the condo yesterday, including lugging the new vanity for the bathroom upstairs, so he was happy to ride this way.
Went on many favorite roads, with just one bigger climb, near the beginning of the ride, through an apple orchard.
For once, I was dressed perfectly. We both commented that riding at a slower speed is so much nicer!
I rode 33 miles yesterday, my third time leading a club ride in a week, 11th so far this year. It was an all-class ride starting at 9:30 am. I had declared several weeks ago that I was done with getting up early for bike rides this year because I prefer to let the sun warm things up as much as possible before rides in the fall and winter. But yesterday's ride was special. It was billed as a rededication of a rail trail that had been closed for about a year due to utility work in the area, but really it was a surprise dedication of a new trailside bench in honor of two members of our club, a married couple who have devoted many hours to improving conditions for cyclists over the past several decades. The plan was to offer two routes -- an out-and-back on the trail and a slightly longer route that started on the trail and then circled around on roads back to the start. I volunteered as one of the leaders for the longer route.
The weather forecast did not look good when I went to bed the night before -- overnight lows in the 30s, highs the next day reaching 50 but with strong cold winds from the NW. I prepared a winter riding outfit. Happily when I woke up at 6 am I found that the temperature had not gone below the mid-40s. It was still windy, with the worst headwinds at the the start of the ride, but the sun warmed things up and we spent enough time with tailwinds or on roads sheltered from the wind to make it an unexpectedly good day for cycling. I still wore my warmest tights (PI Amfibs) and my Woolie Boolie socks, but otherwise wore lighter-weight clothes than I had originally planned and was more than warm enough.
As for the main event, the surprise bench dedication, no one expected that we would really be able to keep it a surprise from the honorees. But we were wrong -- it was such a surprise that only one of them came to the ride, as the other had a prior commitment helping out at a local food pantry. Nonetheless it was a nice ceremony, well worth an early start on a blustery day.
Sounds lovely, NY! How nice about the bench dedication. :-)
Crankin, I agree -- going slower is just a lot more pleasant at times. No suffering can be very nice.
We had to skip our usual Sunday morning ride as it was raining off and on, and even during the not-raining minutes, the puddles and wet roads put us off. And by the time we thought "Gee, maybe we should have ridden after all", it would start raining again, thus proving that we made the right decision. It's been a rainy six weeks or so here in Playa, I guess because July through Sept. was dry as the desert.
I've been getting in a few quick trainer rides. Another exam tomorrow and a bad combination of "it's cold and I'm feeling wimpy"-itis. At least it's been more regular. Now to keep that up!
Got in a little 11 mile ride around noon, after doing a new "yoga and weights" class. Jury is still out on that, though it gives me choices on a day off, when it's too cold or snowy to ride, and I don't want to go to spin or ski.
Bright, bright sun, really gorgeous out, around 45. I was a bit overdressed, really just the mid-layer, so I unzipped and that helped. Saw just 2 other cyclists. Glad I went, but I can tell it's getting to be the end of the season for me. Every ride will be a gift and I will force myself out there at least once a week, until it snows or is under 25 degrees. I am at 2,601 miles for the year, and that's OK, considering I haven't done many 50+ mile rides.
Just finished a 19.5 mile hill ride. A few weeks ago unexpected rain messed with my weekly post-work ride. Tonight there was a chance of light rain in the forecast but it came through early and west of where I planned to ride. There was a cool breeze but it was from the SE, so it was humid with temps in the low 60s. I started the ride wearing arm warmers and a vest, ended up taking them off and was comfortable with just a short-sleeved jersey over a lightweight long-sleeved wool base layer. Unusual for mid-November but I'm not complaining!! The humidity or lack thereof makes a huge difference this time of year.
There was one part of the ride where the roads had been milled down with manhole covers and some unmilled patches higher than the surrounding surface. It was challenging in the dark. Urban cyclocross.
We had torrential rain forecasted for last night and into around mid morning. So, I signed up for spin class. Woke up, the rain was tapering off by 7:00. By 9, when I left, the sun was out! It was too late to cancel (you get charged a fee), so I went, in a bad mood the whole way. I mean, it's 60 degrees on November 20th! The class was good, but the roads were dry when I left the club. Did not think it was a good idea to ride outside after that, since I am planning to ride and go to tabatta tomorrow.
Going out for a little walk now, before a week of eating commences by dinner and theatre in Boston.
Did a 16 mile ride today, one i haven't done in awhile. Nothing special, but it was nice out, albeit cool, but sunny, with a slight breeze at 45 degrees. There's one smaller hill in the middle of the ride, that goes through Hanscom AFB, and then, the climb back up to my house. I keep thinking my last ride of the year will be my last ride where I have to go up that fricking hill to get home... while moving has been delayed a bit, we'll be out of here by the end of the year.
Lots of riders out, and after an initial period of my legs hurting since i had already been to the gym, I felt really good when I got home. It's supposed to rain in the AM, so we signed up for spin. I won't complain though, if it's dry when we go, as the forecast is iffy for the whole day. I am trying to up my exercise over the next week, and I am feeling it!
I've ridden more in the past couple of weeks than I have in a while, while also trying to get back to a normal gym routine, and I have definitely been feeling it. Though today I felt okay, probably because I was going kind of slow for much of it.
I did a 46 mile club ride in northern Maryland today, probably our last chance to ride in that area this year since they often get more snow and ice than we do closer to DC. The weather was pretty perfect. It was in the mid 40s when we started but felt warmer thanks to the sunshine and practically cloudless skies. And there was not much wind, which was an added bonus. The route was great, lots of familiar favorite roads with some exploration on a few that I haven't been on before. I will plan to ride it again at some point. The only problem was that we had hoped to stop at a nice cafe in Emmitsburg, but found it has closed and been replaced by a tattoo parlor. The people there were really friendly, so we'll miss them.
It was almost 4 pm by the time we finished and we could feel it getting colder as we rode the last few miles. For the next couple of months we'll be doing shorter rides.
Came out to the desert yesterday to ride, do some photography and reflect this weekend. This morning I rode from Beatty Nv to the ghost town of Rhyolite which has been abandoned since 1920. Only 56 miles but with a very strong headwind going out. It felt good to be in the moment of a hard ride with the beauty of the desert surrounding me.
A side road out of Beatty as I started out this morning
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/641/2...410a0211_c.jpg
Rebecca, as always, your photos are inspirational!
Wow yes, what a beautiful photo.