November Rides

To start the month, I forced myself out the door at 9:40 AM, 36 degrees. All thoughts of 20+ miles gone from my mind, I did 12 miles, under increasingly gray skies, but no wind.
I really tried not to overdress, which worked until I had to climb a hill about half a mile long. I had on a light thermal jersey and a sleeveless base layer, so I thought it might be a smidge too cool for just a regular wind jacket. I knew my Assos winter jacket was too warm, so I settled on a Gore jacket that I bought from someone on TE, years ago. It is also a super warm jacket, but, it has pit zips! The sleeves also come off, too. Hands, feet, and legs were fine, but my thermal cap was too much. Should have worn a regular head cover. I felt fine until the hill, and then the sweating commenced. I could unzip the jacket and jersey, which helped, but for me, the quickest way to cool off is on my head. But it was too cool for no head cover, so I suffered. Was not going to take the sleeves off the jacket, for such a short ride. The pit zips were open the whole ride.
About 2 miles from home I saw my friend, Lamar, who I lead rides with, going to work in his car. He moved in with his girlfriend about a year ago, so I never think of him as living near me, as he used to live in the city.
Glad I went, but I do have to get the cool weather dressing better. The temperature is going to moderate overnight, so I may go out at 5 AM, as it's supposed to be 50. Might rain during the night, so the roads will need to be semi-dry, as there are leaves everywhere.

Welllll...after not being on the bike for various reasons since my June 10th challenge, I hopped on my bike on the trainer. Said it would start in November and did. It was fun, but hard after being out of real "gym" time for so long. So I'm back into training. It will be tough getting to where I was when I stopped but will make it. :)

Welcome back Helene!

I was going to ride tonight but it there was a chance of light rain which is a no-go for me when temps are in the 50s or even lower. Okay honestly I avoid riding in rain all the time, but definitely when it's cold. And tomorrow should be a tad less cold anyway.

I also feel like I don't know what to wear now and will probably overdress again. I am still not doing as much walking as usual due to the torn ankle tendon, and therefore am not spending as much time outside at night like I usually do. And it's messing me up, not allowing me to remember which layers work and which are too much or too little.

I did ride this morning, after watching the hourly forecast like a hawk last night. DH came with me, for a change. I did better with the dressing, erring on the side of being cool, but not cold. It was supposed to be 53, but, it was 49. Humid, though, so it feels warmer. All I wore was a regular long sleeved jersey, with my rain jacket over it. It's a bit heavier than my wind jacket, and there was a chance it would rain. I had a light head cover on, my ears were covered, light long fingered gloves and knickers, which are almost tights on me! I had on wool socks and toe covers, as I thought it would be weird to wear my winter shoes with knickers. My hands felt cool, as did my butt; I could have used the fleece of light weight tights, but, by the end of the ride I was a bit clammy from a climb/sweat, so I just need to remind myself to dress with less layers than I think I need.
DH pushed the pace for me on an early am ride, and I yelled at him several times. We went very slowly up the climb, though, and after that, it's downhill slightly or flat home. 10.6 miles, which for 5 AM is fine.
Probably will not ride to the office tomorrow, as we are leaving for Maine right when I get home at noon. We have a ride planned for Portland on Saturday.

Yes, welcome back, Helene.

Yeah, girls, its that time of year on the how to dress thing (woke up to two inches of wet, slushy snow on the ground this morning, but it's melting). Have found that the cool/cold weather how to dress issue is trickier for road work than trail work, since I'm out in the open on the roads and exposed to the wind, more and, of course, speeds are higher out on the road. For road work, my usual formula of feeling a bit cool for the first couple of miles usually works.

Don't know about anyone else, but I have some spots where I am especially sensitive when I ride in the cold (as in below freezing and way down from there). My face is one. I always take along a face mask or a scarf, since these are easy to stash if I don't need them. My hands and feet, of course, but if they overheat, no big deal, and that's rare, anyway. Usually they're not warm enough. I also find that my chest area above my breasts is especially cold sensitive when I ride. I find that a good vest works for this. Less likely to over-heat than if putting on another full layer and a vest is easy to put on top of other layers. Wish someone would invent a heated bra, though. :)

Not having to worry about winter dressing down here in Florida, since we've warmed up again after the two cold fronts. :D Today was short-sleeved jersey and shorts, and after about 15 minutes of slightly chilly into-the-wind, slight downhill at the beginning of today's ride, I warmed up and was just right for the rest of it.

A bit sore, though, due to two weeks off the bike while traveling, a fairly fast-paced 33 miles on Tuesday, and a home yoga-lates workout yesterday, plus lots of walking. My legs were pretty dead today, and I averaged .8 mph slower than Tuesday. Managed 35 miles, but it was not very pretty!

It was 60 degrees when I went to the gym at 5:15 am... I didn't ride there, though. She really kicked our butts today and I feel kind of "off."
Of course, since we are going away this weekend. Will be doing a ride by the ocean tomorrow, in Portland, Maine. Probably be in the 40s.
This weather roller coaster is driving me nuts.

Yeah, I thought last night would be slightly less cold than the night before, but not very different since the warm days lately have still had cool nights in between. But yesterday was really warm, well into the 70s with more humidity, and last night was great. It was in the low 60s the whole time. I rode 18 miles, was dressed just right. Did the standard of lightweight wool long sleeves under a short sleeved jersey since that combo is a good base for me. For the first few miles I had a vest all zipped up and arm warmers, but once I got warmed up I unzipped the vest and rolled the arm warmers down to my forearms. I also wore unlined tights. But regular gloves, no ear warmers or cap or anything covering my shoes. I wouldn't complain if it stayed like this for a while. But it won't -- the wind is now from the east i.e., the ocean, so clouds have rolled in and tomorrow will be 20 degrees colder and gray with spotty showers.

In addition to the good weather, last night's ride was quiet and uneventful. Except for my knee. The right leg was hurting again above the knee on the inside. I tried to focus on good form, keeping my knee over my foot, but it still got gradually worse as the ride went on.

So now, what to do about it? My saddle did feel too low or maybe too far forward. But it hasn't changed since a few weeks ago when things felt okay. My Speedplay X cleats are old and very worn. Could that cause problems?

I already have a new set of cleats. My plan has been to get new shoes rather than put the new cleats on the current shoes. In part this is because my shoes are also pretty worn out, but mostly because I switched to new insoles with a higher arch earlier this year (which were needed to address the ankle problems) and there really isn't enough room in the shoes for them -- I can barely fasten the velcro straps. So I want to look for something with a larger toe box, or maybe just go up a half size, to get more room for the arch support.

I also want to schedule a bike fit appointment, but will start by looking for shoes this weekend. In addition to having him look at the saddle position, I will need his help putting new cleats on new shoes, since I need them to be at a weird angle for my right foot (related to the ankle surgery I had years ago).

Three inches wet snow on our elevated deck, overnight, but about 2" down on the warmer ground. Soooo ... fat bike heaven!

Ran several of the fat bikes to test their various tires, but with a thin snow like this, any tire does great. Won't be till things get deeper and ice up that tire selection and tire psi gets more important. Anyway, first snow of the yer and the riding was great. This thin snow barely slowed the fat bikes at all. Could do all the same climbs and turns, same as when the trail is dry, though still have to be wary of getting a bit careless on the turns.

When you come to a fork in the trail ... take it.
https://s1.postimg.org/3jvjvd5wen/P1090706.jpg

My best pal, Star, along for the fun, as always.
https://s1.postimg.org/8dx65no3ov/P1090712.jpg

We got to Portland yesterday around 2 and proceeded to commence with the eating and drinking of my birthday weekend. Mashtun for beer and cheese, some walking, and some rest before dinner at a great small plates restaurant.
We did a 21.6 mile ride out to and around Cape Elizabeth and the lighthouses around 11:15. I was dressed mostly right, just seem to be sweating a lot. I changed from my fleece gloves to my light weight long fingered ones at the half way point. I pushed my head cover up over my ears, which helped, but felt cool. It was 50 with bright sun and little wind until we got to the lighthouses. The return was nearer the water, so more wind.
I freaked out on the beginning of the ride, riding through the city. It wasn’t the drivers or traffic, but having to stop at lights, on small hills.
I just suck at this and I am not sure why, as my legs are not weak! Now, it’s in my head. The return did not have any of this and riding over the Casco Bay Bridge both ways was fun. The ride had 1000 ft of climbing, lots of rollers, and it was harder than I had thought.
We got back at 1, changed and then had lunch and 2 mikes of walking.
On to cocktails and dinner.

Happy birthday, Crankin! :-)

I know how you feel about stopping on hills at lights -- I have the same worries. Although I rarely have to do this lately, whenever I do, I feel like such a cycling novice, which I'm not even close to, and neither are you, of course. I think it's more about the novelty of that particular situation and not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of others!

Enjoy the eating and drinking and riding and everything else for your special day. :)

Yes, Happy BD,Crankin. Have a good rest after that ride. I know the feeling about starting on a hill. It's really bad on our steep trail sections with the MTBs/fat bikes and adding snow or ice makes it almost impossible in the winter. Usually you can't stand on the pedals to start with snow because that takes much needed weight and therefore traction. Rear tire just spins until you sit down. I'm very careful where I stop in the winter. Can even be tricky on the flats with snow on the trail. Snow changes a lot of things.

Speaking of snow (again, sorry), my snow is already melting. Wah! :( Back to riding dirt. Oh, well, it's only the beginning of our snow season and I actually managed to do my year's best of just over 20 miles of trail riding, today, what with playing with all the bikes, all day long and having so much fun in the new snow. Extra workout with pedaling though the snow, too. All my summer riding paid off.

Our early snow is gone, already, thanks to temps never getting down to freezing, overnight and some rain. Not talking about a heat wave, here. Temps still holding in the 30s and no sunshine, either.

Took advantage of the snow-free trails to ride the Surly Krampus 29er+ while I can. Almost collided with a big 6 point buck deer. Whew! We usually only see bucks during the rut and the rut is in full progress. See does, every day, but rarely bucks. Beautiful animal.

No riding today. We skipped the crappy hotel breakfast and went to a lovely French café for brunch. Nice and simple, real French omelet. It was cloudy and slightly warmer this morning, after a very chilly evening, when we walked back from my birthday dinner. That was spectacular, in a restaurant that is in a rennovateed church. Portland has more cool restaurants every time I go there and the people are friendly. We drove home after brunch, so we could relax and read the paper, shop and do laundry at a leisurely pace. I have been having a usual sinus/aches, GI thing on and off for a couple of weeks. I got through the weekend, though and now I feel better. Now DH is saying he is feeling off, too.
Our weather roller coaster continues. Tomorrow is going to be 70, rain, and then increasingly descending temperatures. Next Saturday is our rescheduled 42 mile ride on the south coast of MA/RI. The predicted high is 38-40 :eek:. Now, I have the proper gear for these temps, but I wonder if any of the participants do. We have 6-7 people signed up. My friend, Lamar is doing the registration for this ride, so it's up to him to call it. We already cancelled due to rain in October, so I am sure he will want to ride. DH and I are fine with it, but I am not going to drive 75 miles if only 3 people show up!

Be careful NWG! And happy birthday to Crankin. I've modified my weekly night ride several times to eliminate stop signs on hills, especially at intersections with main roads. There are enough things to pay attention to in those situations in order to remain safe, without having to worry about clipping in and out.

Speaking of clipping in and out, I bought new shoes today. They're a different brand (Shimano) which I'm told tends to have a wider toe box than the Bontragers that I'm replacing. But I think I also got them a size larger than the old ones. They might actually be men's shoes; I need to look at the box. They are "last year's style" so I got them at half price. I'm not thrilled with the color -- black -- because my super pale legs look ridiculous in shorts and dark shoes, and black will be hotter in the summer. But then again they won't look filthy like the old white shoes, so pros and cons. Anyway. Now I need to make a fit appointment to get the new cleats put on them, and to discuss the knee pain I've been having in case the old worn cleats were not causing it.

Will do, NY. I take collisions with animals while MTBing, seriously, given that I have had close calls with deer on some of my fast downhill runs and given that fact that bikers and other outdoor folks have been killed when colliding with wildlife. Recently, a guy in an ATV up here collided with a black bear on a back trail and died when he was thrown from the vehicle.

I do keep praying that you'll solve the pain thing. You're on the right track, though, with experimenting and testing different things. Always amazes me how even a tiny adjustment in all the fitting parameters can make such a big difference when we ride as to efficiency and comfort. Seems like I am forever adjusting something on my bikes as I ride the trails. For sure, just a change in shoes makes a difference in bike fit. The more I ride, the more picky I get about the right adjustments.

I switched to Shimano shoes from Sidi about 6 years ago. It made a big difference. I do not have wide feet, but the Sidis were just too constricting for me. My feet were burning and hot after like 3 miles. I still have this on longer rides, but not badly, and I can loosen my shoes to make it go away. I need new shoes, too. I am waiting for the new version of my shoes to come out, during the winter. DH bought the new men's version, which is out. He got the screaming hi viz green, but I am not sure if I want to do that. I agree, NY, though that the white shoes seem to have run their "in" phase. Mine look awful. I am ready to go to another color. I loved my red Sidis, but I have not seen red in any Shimano style.
I am feeling better, but I decided to do the right thing and not go to boot camp this morning. Since it was 63 out at 5:15, DH and I went for a fast 2 mile walk in the neighborhood behind our condo. I used the new headlamp we bought a couple of years ago, but I haven't used. It is so much better than the old one. So peaceful out, only one car and one runner. I will rest tomorrow and on Wednesday I am doing a club ride that I have not done, although they've been running it for years. It starts and ends at a Bonsai garden, and we eat there afterwards, with sandwiches the leader's wife picks up for us. This ride includes a 3 mile dirt road and lots of hills in the area I first lived in when I moved to MA. This includes riding by a very smelly pig farm that my kids saw on their first school bus ride here... a shocking thing for 2 kids from the never ending development in Tempe, AZ!

Never got above the freezing point, yesterday, so my trails remained frozen hard. Kind of cool. With all the rain and snow we've had, I could hear the ice crystals breaking up under the tires as I rode. Sounded like I was riding over Rice Krispies at times. Even better, the trails were super fast, probably the fastest they've been this year.

We're hogging all the warm weather down here in Florida, NWG! It's been hot and humid, with foggy, cooler mornings. Have done our usual trail ride the past two days, and lots of folks were out and about on the trails. Snowbirds are arriving in Florida daily, so even weekdays on the trail are busier than they had been, but not enough to be a problem (no kids, anyway!) Went over 2800 miles on the year today and looking forward to hitting 3000 in the next couple of weeks!

Good for you, Emily. Even without your injury, earlier in the year, that's impressive. As for the cold weather, at least it's more the norm for us, this time of year. Was getting a little spooked with that heat wave we were having earlier, this fall. Anyway, got two of the fat bikes setup with studded tries, so let it snow. :)

Wow, Sheila, had no idea that you're struggling with your Krampus build. Sorry to hear it. Will keep an eye open for that color. Not crazy about the same old, same old red on mine (my least favorite bike frame color), but otherwise no issues. Bike is a very nice ride, though that, as always, is partly a matter of the tires you run.

Yeah, just about everything in the MTB world is thru-axle, now. Quick release is pretty much an antique, these days. I think it's a good thing, though. Thru axle setups are more durable and stronger and that's a big plus for trail work. Really doesn't take any longer to remove a wheel, anyway.

I'd strongly recommend going plus, even for road work. Does make for a smoother, more comfy ride. You can cut down on the added wheel weight by going tubeless if you spec out a tubeless ready rim and tire. On plus and fat bikes, getting rid of that tube makes for a substantial reduction in wheel weight. Not just a reduction in weight, by the way. The tire runs smoother without a tube. Gives a little more without that tube in it. Have done tubeless on two of the fat bikes, now, and wish I had done it, sooner. What a difference. Will not buy another MTB/fat bike unless it has tubeless ready rims. Wish my stock Krampus had them.

Also, if I remember right, someone was asking about dropper seat posts. You? Well, my new Norco came with one and I've been riding it for a month, now. Verdict: I can take it or leave it. It is nice to be able to get way low on the bike on the fast downhill runs - gets me a bit more speed - but my runs aren't exactly the stuff you see in the MTB ads. I get a little nutty, but not that nutty. On the really, really steep drops, yeah, I can see the use. On the negative side, dropper posts are heavy. Do add a lot of weight.

If you're going to spend the money ...
Going Jones versus Surly is the difference between going custom and going heavy duty commercial. Have the Jones handlebars on both of my Surly bikes, now, and love them. I'd sure give Jones a call and talk with him. Seems like a nice outfit. Yeah, you'll spend more, but the bike will be built from scratch and done right by someone who can build it the way you want.

Best of luck, girl.

Good luck with the build, Sheila.
So, I did not go on the group ride and my ride Saturday is cancelled (thankful for that). DH worked from home, so we did a little ride at 1:00. Somehow, my front light fell off (not sure how this could happen) and I didn't notice until I got home. I have another light, but, it's the "big boy," and although it has 3 settings the flashing mode only works on the highest, which is *very* bright. Personally, I don't care, I know drivers dislike it, but it is pointed down. I usually use it for all riding through the winter anyway, and for all true dark riding. DH actually went out and drove the route, but nothing. I feel stupid, but...
It's going to be 19 tomorrow morning :eek:. Guess I'll be going to spin class. I've been riding every Thursday at 5 am for 2 months, and hopefully, will have a few more times of Thursdays in the 30s or 40s before the roads get sloppy. It didn't take much for my friend to cancel our Saturday ride on the south coast. 25 at the start and wind, by the ocean. His girlfriend was refusing to go. Guess we will hike, or do a short ride around here in the PM.

Crankin, 19!?! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I gotta admit, with all its faults (and there are many), I do love Florida...yesterday the pool felt awfully good after our ride!

Pool? Rub it in. Naughty girl, Emily. :) We have ice on the lake, already. Going to see single digits this week for temps. Still ride every day, of course, but, yeah, cold is a factor. Wears me out, quicker. All that bundling up is a hassle, too, but what's a girl to do? Can't just sit in the house all winter.

Sheila, what is this bike going to do, if you don't mind me asking? Trail, road, single track? I considered the Surly ECR, but for strictly trail riding, I went with the Krampus. It's more of a dedicated trail bike with better bottom bracket height and more current trail geometry. The ECR is a heavy duty touring bike designed to carry big loads on rough roads, way out yonder. Overkill for riding trails around the house.

Emily, I misspoke. The 19 is Friday morning... tomorrow will be 28. Don't think I want to dress up like a marshmellow, though, so I will still be going to spin.

Two inches of snow, again, last night, so it's definitely that transition season where the snow sits around for a couple days, then melts off. That won't last long, though. By December, those in-between melting periods are gone. Once it snows, it's usually here till spring.

Not sure how much XC skiing I'll get done, this year. The fat biking really cut into it, last year, but mostly because the snow we had was crappy for skiing - crusty, icy or slushy. Had to listen to all my XC pals sing the blues about it, all winter log. Told them to get a fat bike. A fat bike can always go.

For sure, the fat bikes are much less sensitive to snow conditions. Any kind of snow works as long as its not too deep to get though it. No waxing or guessing as to how much glide or kick I'll have on any given day. With the studded tires, I can do almost all the steep climbs and drops on the bike that I can do in the summer and most of those are too steep to do with the skis, anyway. Can even ride out on bare ice on the lake or hard pack snow out on the roads after the plows have been though. That's a no go for the skis. No such thing as too little snow, either.

Even with fat tires that don't have studs, most of the time can do all these things. The studs just add a bit of extra grip and safety when things get super slick. That's why I run a number of fat bikes in the winter, all set up with different types of tires. Can just grab a bike with the right tires and go.

Nothing like riding a bicycle out on the lake in the winter. Just ask my hubby. Star thanks so, too.
https://s33.postimg.org/iu35465db/P1000046.jpg

The Krampus is a nice match for that kind work, Sheila. Hope you get something built.

Now and then, I wonder if I shouldn't have gotten a Karate Monkey with the 27.5 plus wheels. Would make for a lighter bike with those wheels, but I have too many bikes, as it is. :)

Brrr! Yeah, I did get out and ride in that two inch plus fresh snow, but I waited too long. Should have hit it right away, this morning. Temps have been falling all day and by the time I hit the trail our thermometer said 12 degrees and that was 12 degrees with a gusty 20 mph plus wind. What had been fairly soft snow in the morning is now pretty compressed and crunchy. Pedaling effort to get though it was a factor. Definitely slowed me down. Still did 3.4 miles before calling it quits with numb hands and feet. No slipping or fishtailing on the steepest climbs, though. The fat bike can do.

Well, we are getting that weather tonight. Tomorrow, low of 18, high of 30.
I went to spin. It wasn't bad. There was a sub, who was good (the regular one is kind of crappy). She did some bicep work with weights in the middle, with slow peddling, which normally I would say is dumb, but it broke up the time. The rest was normal intervals and hill climbs. She asked if anyone rode outside... I was the only one :(.

Well we will not be as cold as Massachusetts and Wisconsin but temps will be dropping for us tonight too, with NW winds to boot. I had thought maybe I could do a rail-trail ride tomorrow with the bike club, since it will at least be sunny, but I wouldn't ride in these conditions in January so not gonna do it in November either. (If the wind was calm, I'd probably give it a try, with plenty of wool and 2 chemical foot warmers per foot.)

Saturday I will get the cleats put on the new shoes and get a cursory bike fit check to see if anything else might be causing the knee pain. It might rise into the 50s on Sunday, so maybe I'll go out and ride then.

Last night I rode 40 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym. So at least I turned some pedals and worked up a sweat. I might go back and do it again tomorrow.

We did officially get down to zero, last night, so I guess it's safe to say winter has arrived. That, and we're forecast to get another 1 to 3 inches of snow, overnight. The NWS predicted there was a 50/50 chance in our location to have a colder and snowier winter than normal, so it's safe to say the money is on the colder and snowier, at least so far.

My ride, yesterday, wore me out faster than I expected. Think I overdid it on bundling up with the leggings. Really hate those things, but have to have them in our winters. Of course, busting through 2 inches of crusty snow takes it's toll, too.

'Tis the season. Oh, well.

Oh, forgot to mention. Saw turkey tracks in the snow, yesterday. Two of them were wandering around on our trails. We do have them in the neighborhood, but they usually hang around up in the highlands. Only see them in our area, now and then. Cool!!

Cool about the turkey tracks, NWG -- but the low of zero, not so much. :eek:

I won't complain, but after wearing a sleeveless jersey for yesterday's ride, a "cold" front blew through, and today it was three layers on top (all thin) and into a stiff north wind with overcast skies. Felt downright wintery -- for Florida, that is. Temps in the 60s, so I know that is balmy for most, but given the wind and lack of sunshine, it felt pretty darn chilly after the 80s with sunshine we've been having!

Ended the week with a 38+ mile ride yesterday and 35+ ride today. :)

I don't think my riding for 2017 is over, but it was 21 degrees when I got up. We went to a concert last night with the friends we were supposed to lead the ride with today; the wind made it feel like Vermont in January. Not complaining, though, as I wore my North Face long puffy coat and my big infinity scarf for the first time, and we parked quite close to the entrance. It's a jazz benefit for a charity that provides education in Quito, Equador. We went last year and were astounded by the talent of the band. This year, they had a singer from the Berklee College of Music, and the jazz ensemble from the HS where my kids went. So much talent, of which I have none!
Planning a hike today, up the "mountain" we rode by, when we did that tour of the conservation lands on our bikes.

I am ready to ride tomorrow. It's supposed to be slightly less cold but I think with little to no sunshine, which means more layers will be needed.

I feel like I have to commit here in order to force myself to get out there. The hard part is usually convincing myself I'll be comfortable after I take off my nice warm ski jacket and start pedaling.

I had the cleats put on the new shoes today. The shoes are a size larger than the old ones, in order to give me enough room in the toe box. After looking at the old cleats and shoes and discussing my foot and knee issues, the fitter decided we should try adding a couple of spacers to the pedals to allow my feet plenty of float without hitting the cranks. He also raised the seat, since it was too low. I don't remember if I lowered it in an attempt to make the new saddle more comfortable; it's possible that the seat slipped down when I went over a bump due to the clamp not being quite tight enough. Then he checked angles and alignment using a plum line, video of me pedaling with dots marking the location of certain bones in my hip and knee and another video with a laser level pointed vertically at my lower leg.

Now I must get out and ride to see what feels good and what needs further adjustment. Of course with the holidays coming up and winter weather making an unwelcome appearance, it may take a while to log enough miles to get everything sorted. But at least we have begun. And my Woolie Boolie socks should fit inside my bike shoes.

DH and I rode about 19 miles today; didn't start out so great, when we went downstairs to get ready and DH had a flat. He was all suited up, so he had to undress and change the flat, which delayed us by 15 minutes or so, then he had to put on all of his winter gear. Anyway, it was close to 2 when we got out. Went out in a different direction, which involves a short hill after about 3/4 a mile. Let's just say my legs were screaming from yesterday's hike. But, after that, it was OK. When we left it was 39 degrees and I was a bit sweaty, although my toes were cold, even with Woolie Bullies and winter shoes. We headed out through Maynard and Stow, to our old stomping grounds in Boxborough, where there is much less traffic. After a short rest, we headed on to the second part of the ride, where it started getting cooler and I was not so sweaty. Lots of shadows at this time of year, and despite full sun, the sun was going down already, around 2:45-3. Got home around 3:15, tired, but glad I went.

Okay so on Friday I took the regular cotton sheets and blanket off the bed and replaced them with flannel sheets and the down comforter.

Since then I have struggled to get out of bed in the morning. It is just. so. cozy.

So I got a late start today. Then had to get all the winter gear together -- warmest booties, wool cap, chemical toe warmers. Made sure the big orange tote bag of extra layers had a complete inventory of arm warmers, leg warmers, extra socks, glove liners, neck gaitors, various jackets and tights. Had to put plastic wrap inside my new shoes under the insoles to cover the vent holes and then make sure the warmest booties would fit over the larger shoes. (They do, but barely.) I finally started riding around 3 pm. I decided to start at the shopping center where the LBS is located and ride on a rail trail, so it would be easy to shorten the ride if anything hurt. After less than five miles I decided it was too hard to unclip the right foot. I had to turn my foot way too far. So I turned around and headed to the LBS where they lubed the cleat and moved it out about a millimeter. After that it still didn't seem 100% right but I was able to clip out easily enough.

It was cloudy and mid-40s, not too cold actually. I was sweating when I got to the LBS and then was cold when I started riding again. This time I went the other way on the rail trail, rode for a few miles and then turned onto a road with a big hill. This is the start of a 30-mile ride that I do from time to time. But I didn't plan on doing the whole 30 miles (it was 4 pm by this time, less than an hour until sunset). Instead I improvised using roads from the beginning and end of the 30-mile route. I did have good lights with me and was wearing some clothes with reflective bits, since I had a feeling I'd still be riding near sunset. In all I think I rode about 22-23 miles.

So, all the changes we made yesterday with new shoes and cleats plus adjustments to the saddle height and handlebar tilt were generally good. Nothing hurt. My heels were hitting the cranks sometimes, but not always. If the weather holds I will do another test ride in a few days, with more hills.

Atta girl, Sheila. That ride with what you're wearing is part of the MTB attitude to just get out and ride, though I suspect most of us diehard MTBer's do wear bike specific clothing, anyway. I sure do, but have been known to ride in jean short and sandals in the summer. For my really cold weather riding, though, I get much stricter about using bike specific winter clothing, though XC ski clothing doubles, nicely.

Beautiful day, today. Highs only in the 30s, but sunshine and the snow laden woods are truly glorious. Just enough snow to make pedaling harder, but not enough to drag you to a dead stop when you don't pedal. Trails are too slick to actually walk, safely, but not to fat bike, safely. Amazing how the fat bikes can easily handle conditions that are too slick for safe walking.

Get some microspikes, North Woods! One of the greatest inventions of all times, in my book, and such a simple thing. I needed them to walk down my driveway to get the mail, before I moved. Just don't get the Yak Tracks brand, which break and generally don't work that well. I wouldn't be able to hike in the late fall/winter/early spring, when there is no snow, if I didn't have these. Sometimes, there's just enough crusty snow and ice to need them, but not enough for snow shoes.
When I went to the gym this morning at 5:15, I saw a rider with a front light as bright as my "big boy" one. Glad there is someone as crazy as me. No, I was not riding today, but I am not done with 5 am rides yet.

Microspikes are things you pull on over your hiking boots, so you can walk/hike on icy trails or roads. Northwoods was saying she couldn't walk the trails, but could ride her fat bike.

I do use pull over crampons over my boots to walk the trails in the winter when things get really treacherous and, of course, they're built in to my snowshoes. Kind of clunky, though. Might look into those micro spikes. Sounds like a great idea.

The fat bikes aren't 100% slip proof, of course. Still have to know how to take tight turns and so on when fat biking on the slick stuff. Also, when things get nightmare bad, I do have two fat bikes set up and ready to go with studded tires. One is for hard pack snow and clean ice. Has shallow lugs to keep more surface area close to the snow pack/ice. Runs very fast. The other is a deep-lugged monster for chewing though the deep, slushy stuff, but it's a slow beast to run.

Oh, yeah, tire styles and setting the right tire psi to match the conditions is a much needed skill for fat biking. These tires run at very low psi, typically 5 or even a touch less in the winter to about 10 or 12 for the max in the summer, so even one or two psi makes a huge difference in the way the tire performs. Regular bike tire gauges aren't accurate enough, either, so I use a special low psi gauge that only goes up to 30 psi. Even have to be careful to wait until the tires cools to air temperature in cold weather before measuring pressure. Tires will lose pressure going from a warm house to winter cold. Go too low and you get a pinch flat when running with inner tubes. Another reason I'm going tubeless when I can with the fatties.

Okay, more than anyone probably wanted to know about fat bikes, but they really are different. I'll shut up, now. :)