Good for you, Emily. I've always enjoyed running errands on a bike. Just seems so much less stressful than using a car. Also helps to keep me from doing too much impulse buying for lack of not having enough room i the panniers. :)
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Good for you, Emily. I've always enjoyed running errands on a bike. Just seems so much less stressful than using a car. Also helps to keep me from doing too much impulse buying for lack of not having enough room i the panniers. :)
Returned to a real deal, gnarly MTB singletrack that has defeated me twice, earlier this spring. Lots of hairpin turns, roots, rocks, but mostly killer and abrupt changes in elevation that, previously, had me stalling out. Maybe it's because of all my riding over this summer, but today I completed the easier 2.2 mile loop on my Trek 29er + Stashe. Yippee! A girl can do. Not much for miles, but what a workout. (Whoa! This is getting addicting.)
Good work, north woods. That is the stuff that made me sell my very nice mountain bike. But, I can use the excuse it was too big for me!
Went out at 6 AM with DH, as it's going to be about 92 and humid today. Said no to the group ride. We rode about 28 miles, into Harvard and Bolton, doing one of my favorite local climbs, and through our old neighborhood (not the one we just moved from, but the one where we lived before and where I started riding). So much quieter with cars just 5 miles west of here. Beautiful morning, too. On the way back, we stopped for coffee in west Acton and sat outside at the café for about 40 minutes. Then, it was just about 5 miles home. I really needed the coffee; went out after eating a small bowl of quinoa flakes, almond milk, and half a banana, but was afraid to drink coffee so close to a ride. Mistake. I felt really sluggish. It's OK to do it when I am riding 10-12 miles, but not for more.
It's already 88 degrees. Yuck.
I bow down in admiration to you! I am not brave enough to do the gnarly stuff. When I first started MTBing around 10 years ago, I was very gung ho, but after taking a few painful falls, I backed off. It's just not fun being injured. I think if I had taken a skills clinic (or three) and really put the time into improving, I probably could have learned to do it, but I was too much a roadie at heart, and then with our various lifestyle changes (living in Belize and Mexico, and road-tripping across the US), I haven't gotten to ride the MTB much at all in the past few years. So I am content with beginner stuff and have no desire to do anything difficult.Quote:
Originally Posted by north woods gal
As for errands, yes indeed. Of course, that's mostly our only choice right now, as we live in a 32' motorhome, so unless we can stop somewhere on the way between campgrounds, we are limited to bicycles for daily errands. We don't have a towed vehicle, by choice, at the moment. We are trying to see if we can get away without the added expense, insurance, and making our rig that much longer. Bikes have served us well so far. And you're right, panniers do limit the impulse buys. We have to carefully eyeball everything we're buying to ensure we can get it all back with us. So far, so good!
You know, I have always been eager to find any excuse to go bike instead of a car. Oh, I use cars, but to be honest, not a car person at all. I think in past lives, I was a horse person and now the bicycle is my modern day version of a horse or something. :)
Went back and worked the MTB single track routes. Used my fat bike, today. Wow! Just rolls over the rough stuff with ease. Getting very comfortable, now, with what the signs call the easier routes (easier, but definitely not easy) and even took a shot at the harder routes. I soon discovered that the harder routes are labeled harder because of the some of the abrupt, very severe changes in elevation. Just no way I could handle those sudden uphill grades, mostly because you have no chance to build up speed to prepare for them. Twist around a corner and there they are. Stalled out on the bad ones - nowhere near enough strength. On the other hand, actually did well on the more level, but challenging twisty, turny, rocky and rutty stuff. Even managed a couple short bunny hops. Crazy me.
Unfortunately, these trails are a 4 plus mile ride on pavement to get there. Now, 4 miles on pavement is a breeze with just about any bike, even standard mountain bikes, but not a fat bike. The noise those monster 4.8" tires make on pavement will drive you nuts (even road on the shoulder to get a little peace and quiet) and trust me, pushing those monster tires ain't no picnic. They are heavy. Did about 10 miles of trails and about another 10 miles of pavement, total to get there.
Tonight, I feel like I rode at least 50 miles on a road bike. My whole body feels like it's been worked, hard. Mountain biking really is more of an entire body kind of riding compared to road biking. Your whole body tends to get beat up with rough single track, what with all the bumps and the need to wrestle the bike around sharp turns and/or all the sudden shifts in balance. Very different kind of riding compared to road bikes. No wonder the guys at our local shop love it so much. Very macho kind of riding. Still, absolutely love it, myself, now, and having the solitude of the deep woods makes it very special. My monthly mile total will take a hit with all this maintain biking, but I'll be in at least as good a shape, maybe even better, because of it.
Did I mention that they actually groom some of these trails in the winter for fat bike riding in the snow? I am truly blessed with both road bike riding and MTB riding, right out my front door. Life is good in my north woods.
I'm back at work and cannot persuade myself to commute- the afternoon ride home in 105 or 106 degrees just doesn't sound appealing. We rejoined the YMCA (just 6 blocks away!) and so I did a little bit of cardio, strength training and swimming. I might not ride before Saturday :(
That is one thing I miss very much with my bicycling in our remote area. When I lived in the Chicago and Portland, Or suburbs, basically living off a bicycle, I would often stop at coffee shops and then sit outside and sip my coffee, no hurry, just relax, do some people watching, maybe read a book. I knew the location of every coffee shop in a 20 mile radius. Oh, yeah, I'm as addicted to coffee as I am to my bicycling.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
And speaking of people, even though I am mostly an introvert and all of my riding is solo, I don't know that I will never be totally comfortable with being out in the woods, all alone. You would think that a lifetime of being solo so much of the time, that I would be used to it, but I guess I am really a people person at heart. Not really the group ride type, but would be nice to have a pal on my long rides. My husband is just not up to that kind of riding, though, so I'm on my own.
I don't mind short solo rides, but I most enjoy riding with 1-5 others. Not so much group rides now, although, I notice in the fall and early spring, when the groups are smaller, I enjoy it more. It's not the socializing, it's the poor bike etiquette I dislike. In fact, I thought I would make more real friends from this group, but, it hasn't happened. I have made friends through the group I lead for. Since I am very extroverted, I am always looking for connections.
And yes, I would say most cyclists are coffee addicts.
Today was another windy one! But gorgeous, sunny, and cool; only in the 70s with a dewpoint of 52. Amazing for July. Supposed to heat up in the next few days, so we'll enjoy this while it lasts. Wind was in the 20 mph range sustained with gusts to 30! In the direction of the headwind, it was super tough going, but at least not scary, as the cross wind could be. I was having to work really hard to keep my bike upright! Fortunately, traffic is extremely light in this area until you get to town, and the passing cars and trucks are super courteous, get all the way in the other lane to pass. When we had a tailwind, we were flying. So much fun! Rode into town, rode some of the river trails there, took some photos, found the place I wanted to leave a few batteries to recycle, then rode back. 36 miles, my longest ride in awhile. :)
That's a good ride in my book, all the more so with that kind of wind. We had that kind of wind, yesterday, up to 30 mph. Those are the days when I go do trails with mountain bike, rather than be out in the open on the road with a road bike. Back in the deep woods on single track, wind isn't much of a factor. Way overdue for some road bike time, though.
That was one of the reasons I wanted to mountain bike, because you could avoid the windy conditions that are usually here in the spring.
Didn't get out quite early enough today. Thankfully, only one person signed up for our ride we were going to lead, so the 3 of us leading cancelled it. It's not as humid today, but already was 82 at 9:30 when we went out. Did a route that takes you into the area of town where there are tons of riders. It's mostly shady and the one climb that counts is near the beginning. We were going kind of fast, until about 4 miles from home, I felt like I was just drained. That side of the street is not so shady! We only did 20 miles, but I think I had some heat exhaustion going on. I drank a bottle of Nuun, but when I came home I filled my 24 oz bottle I use at work, with ice and water and drank that over the next hour, but I didn't feel better until I took a shower. Weird, because my legs felt good and my average was fairly high for me.
Probably no riding tomorrow, as we are having a shower for my son and DIL. I guess I couold get out early AM.
We did another laundry ride yesterday. Finally, finally a day with nearly no wind. Temp in the 70s! Doesn't get much better. Just a nice little 20-miler round trip and two clean loads of laundry to show for it. :cool: Today is cleaning and yoga -- I've ridden quite a few days in a row, so it is time for a day off!
The mountain biking continues, even though I could just as easily get back to my road biking, now that the traffic is back to normal after the big music festival. Actually, my mountain biking automatically includes a fair number of pavement miles, too, because I ride my bike to my mountain bike spots. Sure, I could load the bike into the car and drive to my spots and then go biking, but I've always done everything in my power to keep a car out of the equation for my outdoor activities. In fact, there have been several times in my life when I have sold my car and lived solely off my bicycle and been very happy.
Anyway, 60 plus miles of all kinds, these last two days - pavement, gravel roads, sand roads, mysterious fire and logging roads that haven't seen a vehicle in years, and my favorite, lots and lots of tough single track. Getting better on the single track. Only a few bumps and bruises. :)
Catching up -- I've gotten in some good rides over the past few weeks. Summer has finally heated up. Last weekend (the 9th or 10th, don't remember which) I rode 55 miles with some friends in a shady, sparsely-populated part of southern Maryland. Another friend was leading it as a club ride but starting later in the morning, too late for me on a hot day -- even with many miles shaded by trees, the ones at the end were too exposed. As luck would have it someone else needed to start early due to having plans that afternoon, so three of us joined her at 8 am. Despite the early start I still had heat rash on my legs (probably related in part to a flare up of hives that I've been dealing with).
Then I had to postpone last week's Wednesday hill ride due to the threat of storms. There was a chance I'd be able to avoid the rain but I've just become too risk-averse when it comes to summer storms with the possibility of lightning, wind and/or heavy rain. As it turned out, it didn't rain at home but there was a pop-up storm a few miles away where I would have been riding. We had the same storm chance on Thursday, so I went to the gym that night and finally did the hill ride after work on Friday. It was uneventful except for one on-the-fly decision to change the route slightly -- the road I chose to explore ended up being a very steep hill. With every pedal stroke I considered stopping and turning around, but I did make it to the top (with tired legs and on the verge of wheezing).
Catching up, part 2 -- yesterday's ride was one that I won't forget.
A friend had planned a long birthday ride on Saturday, but I decided not to go because it would have involved riding all afternoon on another hot sunny day. I'm still not fully acclimated to the heat yet, and with the recent flare-up of chronic hives finally calming down I didn't want to put myself under the physical stress of being outside during the hottest part of the day. Instead I decided to do a ride on Sunday in northern Maryland with the club that I rarely ride with. The reason I rarely do this club's rides is their survival-of-the-fittest approach -- there's never a sweep, and if you have a mechanical or health problem you're left behind. And there's also so much pace inflation that you're likely to be dropped early and left to ride alone even though you're maintaining the advertised pace. But this is an area I know well, I was able to plan some short cuts in case I needed them, and a friend was going to be there so I could ride with her. Most importantly the ride started early enough that we would be finished early in the afternoon.
So, as expected, my friend and I were dropped immediately. After a few miles I noticed one man who was riding alone not far ahead of us, and we caught up with him at an intersection. He asked if he could ride with us, and we said of course, please do. It turned out that his Garmin was not working and he didn't have a cue sheet, so he had no idea when or where to turn. And he was new to the area, having moved here just a few weeks ago after a job change and a divorce.
Somewhere around mile 12-13 he asks how far to the first rest stop, because he had inadvertantly left his water bottles at home. The first stop is 28 miles into this 65-mile ride, well over two hours of riding at our pace. There are no other stores around in this rural area and not much shade. So we stop and give him some water (my friend and I both started with two full bottles.) We ride on and reach the rest stop (a convenience store/gas station) with much interesting conversation but no further incidents.
Riding on, around mile 35 we reach a steep hill. He walks up part of it. No problem, we wait at the top under a tree. He hasn't ridden in months due to all the stuff that's been going on in his life. He starts riding more slowly and I ride ahead, keeping an eye on him with my handlebar mirror. By mile 45 he's been out of sight for a while so I stop and wait, then ride back about a mile until I see him coming. It's quite hot by now and we have a bit of a headwind. Around mile 49 we're close to the next stop (another convenience store) but I'm starting to bonk so we stop in the shade for a snack. My friend had gone ahead but we all meet up at the store where we cool off in the shade and get more food and cold drinks.
We hit the road again with 15 miles to go. With 5 miles to go my friend and I reach an intersection and stop in the shade to wait for him. After a few minutes we don't see him so we start riding back, and find him after about a mile working on a flat tire. We spent at least 45 minutes trying to fix that flat. Three different tubes fail when we try to inflate them -- apparently due to stem problems. The tire -- a Conti GP Attack, I think -- was very tight, very hard to get off and on the rim. At one point we thought maybe my friend's frame pump wasn't working so we tried mine instead. Finally we give up, tell him we will ride back to our cars and one of us will drive back to get him.
So much for starting early in order to finish by early afternoon -- by the time we finished riding the last few (unshaded) miles it was 3 pm and the heat rash was already appearing on my legs. But the club I usually ride with is not like the one we were riding with yesterday -- we never leave anyone stranded. I volunteered to drive back to get him. I quickly loaded up my car, drank some orange juice that was in my cooler, made a quick pitstop at a nearby gas station and headed back to where we left him. He had started walking so I found him about a mile and half from where we'd left him. We got his bike into my car and soon were back at the ride start.
Over the years I've been helped by many people who were patient enough to wait when I needed to rest or helped me fix a flat or gave me water when I was too hot. I'm glad I had the chance to pay it forward. In the end my friend and I agreed that it was a fun ride in spite of the drama.
That is an awesome attitude! In the past, I've been annoyed by such drama (really, didn't bring water bottles? maybe he should have just tried to join the next week when he hadn't forgotten), but then again, it does feel good to pay it forward. And there but for the grace of God go I....I've always appreciated when I'm not alone. If he's new to the area, and recently divorced, and had other things going on, I'm sure the kindness you shared him was greatly appreciated. Good for you!Quote:
Originally Posted by ny biker
Yes, I may have been more than mildly mad, too, but only if it was on a ride I was leading; if I just happened to be in a group with someone in that situation, not so much. And even though I get upset, I help. They may have done something stupid, but if it's health or safety, I don't mess around. People are generally appreciative. And the last one I tried to help sent an apology for being a beeach to me!
You are definitely a good soul, NY! I think I would have been majorly annoyed at someone showing up to a 65-mile summer ride with no water bottles. WTF! We do all have brain farts, myself included, but I am still sure I would not have been happy to have to share my water with someone who was obviously not ready to do that ride for many reasons. Good on you.
We did another grocery ride today. We overbought, and I still can't believe we actually got it all into DH's two panniers and rear basket, my Rackpacker and small backpack. As we started out with this load, we realized that both our rear tires were low, and with all that weight, that was not a good thing. So, we stopped and DH pumped them up. We made it back to our motorhome without incident, and this ride put me over 1500 miles for the year (by .9!) Yay! A very pretty day with highs in the low 80s, sunshine, low humidity, and light wind.
We're due for some very hot and humid weather in the next few days, which we've mostly avoided until now, but it is mid-July, so I truly can't complain!
NY, absolutely you did right. The guy was in way over his head to attempt that long a ride being so out of shape and so unprepared. Sounds like that was only part of the problem, too. Without your help, things may have ended very badly for him. You were true blue to the bikers code of always offering a helping hand. I salute you.
Emily, we're forecast to have our typical once a summer heat wave later in the week, too. Usually once a summer, we hit 90 or at least close to it for a couple of days.
Today was just gorgeous, though. Been getting reports of a good wild blueberry crop, this year, so headed back on the MTB trails, again, to see what I could find. Good excuse, anyway, as I have been very much in a MTB mood for awhile. Just something so darn beautiful being way back in the woods on a bike, no traffic, no noise, just wild trails, deep woods and lakes to keep you company. No blueberries, but raspberries, galore, though most are still green. Saw a flock of Wild Turkey hens and a doe with twin fawns, too.
Been all enamored of the big wheel/wide tire trend in mountain bikes, of late and, yes, there are advantages. Took my old standard 26" Trek MTB out, today, and, have to say, though, there are still things the old standard 26ers can do better for me than the new bigger wheel/tire formats.
On the unforgiving, twisty and spooky up and down single track, did better with the 26" Trek than with any other bike, this week. A good old 26er still gives me the best control on the tricky stiff as long as things are firm, underneath. (When things get loose and sloppy, things do get a bit spooky. Also have to be careful with obstructions in the trail because there is lower clearance with a 26er.) Managed to get up some climbs with the 26er that had me stalling out with the bigger wheel and tire MTBs, this week (the fat bike was really hard to push up the steeps.) Also, didn't overrun turns the way I sometimes do with the bigger wheel bikes, again, that fat bike being notoriously slow get turned for me.
Anyway, I still think that for us gals, the old reliable 26er is still a practical choice for our strength levels, compared to bikes with the bigger, fatter and heavier wheels and tires as far as control, at least when it comes to hitting the steep stuff as well as the very precise twisty stuff (though I have yet to try the new 27.5 bikes). The old 26er is still a very useful bike for me. Just an observation.
http://i64.tinypic.com/35lxbi8.jpg
Here's a solution: ride at night! We did a "Moonlight Ride West" this month, and about a dozen people (we'll see if we get the >50 tomorrow for the Standard Eastern version, but we're not on a weekend so who knows? and I'll be at a bike meeting and can't go unless it gets canceled for lack of quorum).
We had some wild storms this a.m. but in the afternoon but a single cell formed... happily a little further north and east than our destination (Mahomet DQ). It gave us an *awesome* color-cloud show that I've got a snap of but I don't think did the colors right, and the blue under the moon sky had a linear color pattern I've honestly never ever seen before with almost stripes of three shads of blue. I'm sure it was a mathematical function of the light reflecting off that thunderstorm cell.
There was neat cloud-to-cloud lightning here and there, too... little sparklies... which were over and done with by the time darkness really fell.
I'm going to put in a bid to find a local vendor who wants to feed us... DQ is so cold and processed and "fast food" as opposed to the Sidney Dairy Barn...
Ride back was Under THe Moon and since we were goin' east we could see it! Where there were cool microclimates there was spoooooky mist on the ground... and I'm glad the big honkin' bug that whanged down my shirt wasn't a biter, but it was a burrower so my attempts to find it and get it outta there ended with an exoskeleton crunch. THankfully I remembered it and tossed the bra in the shower and rinsed... it looked like a common beetle (and 3/4 inch... not really honkin' big...) -- but obvioulsy one of the flying sort.
My left shoulder is all stiff, though, which started two weeks ago Friday with a badly hung camelbak 30 mile ride. Hot shower but... I don't know if a massage (which I don't generally partake of) or a muscle relaxer (same there... I'm a chill dude) ... or maybe ice? would unlock things.
But dude! Yesterday I had ZERO miles!!! (the only day in many months for that to be true) because I was driving Baltimore to Urbana and Traffic Happened... but today was 52. I'll add pics soon...
GOod call :) When we did 106 I didn't have to go to work and I just stayed inside as if it were a blizzard. Swimming's a great idea!
Per Crankin's hopefully non-hive-generating ride... Hey, sometimes when you see somebody whose Day is Going To Suckville Hard and Fast... and you can be the one to make it Not Suck... that's a good day, even if it takes the day. He was prob'ly feeling like a black burnt biscuit on a hot summer day, as they say in Culpeper Virginia when you're so low you gotta step on a nickel to see over a dime...
Glad to hear you think that since you have a lot of experience with different types of MTB/gravel bikes, and since a 26"-er is the only one I have, I'm really glad to hear it. I'm only 5'1.5" tall and a lightweight besides, so I've always felt like bikes with larger wheelsizes would just be too much bike, too much weight, and possibly too tall for me as well. My 700c road bike feels HUGE after riding my 20" wheeled Bike Friday and my 26" MTB.Quote:
Originally Posted by north woods gal
We've been lucky so far and have not had the intense heat yet. Yesterday was still very nice in the 80s and not too humid, then this morning we had a lot of rain, so this was my day to take off the bike. Tomorrow and Thurs. are supposed to be our hot days, with highs in the 90s. Not looking forward to that, but being used to summers in NC, only two days of 90+ in a long while are nothing to complain about!
I commuted today, the big 5.3 mile round trip. We are having 2 days of normal 70-80 degree summer weather, and then of course starting Thursday 4 days of temperatures reaching pretty close to 95+. The same 4 days we are doing our annual cycling trip to the Berkshires. It will be just 1-3 degrees cooler there. Other than asking the owner of the B and B if she can give us breakfast earlier, so we can start earlier, there's not much we can do. I may actually take my Camelbak, to use in addition to my bottles filled with lots of Skratch.
Today was beautiful and tomorrow I am doing a 35 mile group ride, that is local and ends in a party at one of the member's home.
Be careful with that heat, girls, though I'm sure all of your are. Our forecasted few days of 90 degree weather has been backed off to the upper 80s, so still very doable for me, though, of course, I will also be careful.
Been getting beat up with the mountain biking. It's either spilling from hitting a turn too late or side swiping a rock or stump or getting smacked by vegetation as I pass and so on. Have the bruises to show for it. Whew! I'm anything but a daredevil, too.
In my defense, though, the area I bike has no "easy" loops, just one section labeled as "easier" on the map. Meanest single track I've tried and I have ridden singletrack in a lot of areas. In 8 miles, there is only about a mile that is fairly level with only mild corners. All the rest is constant and severe up and down, no rests in between, quick turns, one after another, roots and rocks galore. You can't relax for a second. Love the challenge, but the best I'll ever be on this stuff is somewhere around an intermediate skill level, if even that. I do worry, too, about taking a really bad spill and injuring myself being back there, all by myself. I'm no spring chicken, either. Not smart.
NWG, when I started MTBing and went with friends to a park rated "easy to intermediate" single track, I couldn't believe what they considered "easy". It was hard to me and still had roots, rocks, climbs/descents, and switchbacks. Sheesh. Then of course the "easy" trails hooked into intermediate ones, so you could easily end up on a more difficult trail without realizing it unless you turned around and went back the way you came in. I fell quite a few times, had bruises and scrapes, and I also bailed out frequently and walked as I got so terrified. I always said that there was a fine line between exiliaration and terror while MTBing!
My worst fall was when the end of my handlebar clipped a tree (just not paying good enough attention as it was on an easy, straight section of the trail). The handlebar whipped around so fast, and I fell hard on my side and hit my head HARD. Had bad whiplash on the side of my neck that lasted a long time. After that was when I stopped going to that park and moved over to a different trail that was double-track and not technical, just challenging aerobically with a lot of climbing. Felt a lot more comfortable there!
Be super careful out there -- it would indeed be terrible to take a bad fall when by yourself, especially if there's no cell signal. In fact, I wouldn't do it alone if there were no cell signal.
Yeah, Emily, I do know what you are saying. Fortunately, I can get a cell signal out there since it isn't too far from town, but it is very hilly, so maybe I better check to make sure how much coverage I get, next time out.
One of my weirdest MTB injuries actually occurred on a single track down in Illinois, while I was living in Chicago. Back then, I loved all kinds of hoop earrings and, well, you guessed it, I was heading downhill and snagged the loop in one ear on a low hanging branch. Ripped open my ear lobe into two halves. Hardly fatal and I had a surgeon repair it, but ouch!
My injury, this week, was with the fat bike. Now, a fat bike is as stable as it gets, but they are just too slow to turn on really technical single track. Great where you don't need to twist and turn, but not so great when the trail looks like a can of worms. Anyway, went just a tiny bit wide on a sharp turn and my pedal snagged on a stump. Pulled the bike right out from under me. Went down, but just a few scratches.
The problem is when I do this easiest trail, the whole trail, perfectly, I get such a sense of accomplishment that I want to go back for more. Really is my own fault for getting bruises. :)
Speaking of mountain bikes, went online, last night, just to see what was out there in 26" wheel mountain bikes, thinking it might be nice to get a full suspension model for the trails I have been riding. Yikes! Looks like the bike people are dropping the 26ers from their lines and going to the next wheel size up in the 650B/27.5. Not sure how this would work for me. I can do all my technical climbing on the trail with my current 26er, but even though I am supposedly tall enough for a 29er to be a proper fit, I just can't climb as well with it. And to think I almost sold off my 26er for a new bike. I'm keeping it, now. Thought I would share this if anyone is shopping for an MTB.
OK, I did a group ride today, that I have done a few times. It's not hot (79 now) out and it was a congenial group. DH and I went out with the longer ride group (37 miles) as opposed to 22 miles and people who ride slower than me. This ride was advertised as "regular Wednesday Wheeler pace," which means cruising at 14-18, but slowing on hills, etc, so on really hilly rides, your average might be 13. A lot of times, the longer ride has been co-opted by a group of mostly guys who are lovely, but fast. I've written about this before, and although they invited me to join their invitation only rides on other days, I went once, and it almost killed me. Off we went. I stayed in the front, mostly due to the fact it's often squirrelly in the back. After about 7 miles we started up some hillier roads in my old neighborhood. I slowed, and DH, who had been in the back, caught up with the front. I was trying to pace myself up Strawberry Hill, but I wasn't even going my slowest, and I was falling back. OK, after that, we were treated to new pavement in the town of Carlisle, which is notorious for awful roads. That was fun, until we went off the route, into a development in Westford. I have been on this road twice, and we actually almost bought a house there, 20 years ago. It's a climb similar to my old street, but longer and unshaded. I kept slowing, and repeating positive thoughts to myself. The sun got to me... we soon stopped at a ball field for a break. DH said,"You must have been flying," as I came in just a couple of minutes behind the front group. I seriously wanted to bail, but I wasn't last by any means, so on we went. There weren't any hard climbs after that, just rollers with a viscious pace for me, but by this time I was starving, had eaten my Lara Bar and one Shot Block, and then we stopped at Great Brook Farm for another break, only about 6 miles from the end. I told DH I needed to just get back, so we went off alone, taking a shorter way, which actually ended up being the advertised distance. Got cleaned up and changed in the car, and enjoyed a beer and food.
I don't know why this stresses me out so much. I *can* ride this fast, but it makes me feel crappy and brings me to tears at times. I am trying to be tougher, though. I've had some faster rides with DH, which I find easier.
Off to the Berkshires for 4 days of riding, which will be slow! It's really hilly and it's going to be hot.
Cranking, my heart goes out to you. Might the stress be from the fact that when you do go on a group ride like this that you feel you must ride at your best? In other words, maybe you feel that you no longer have a choice in the matter, the decision has been taken out of your hands? I know there are days when I just want to cruise and enjoy the ride and then maybe push myself when and if the spirit moves me. Being something of an introvert, trying to make a good showing with all those other people around might be very stressful for me.
Yes, I do feel the need to keep up, and since the ride was listed to be a certain way, and it wasn't, I can get quite negative in an instant. But, I think doing this once in awhile is good for me. A few things I notice are, that I am better at group rides in the early spring/winter or even fall, when this group is smaller, and even the fast guys slow down. I start feeling burned out with riding by this time of year, but it has to do with the hotter weather. I have a chronic issue (I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia a few years ago, but I don't have a lot of the common symptoms) that rears its head in heat, that is more than heat exhaustion. I push through it, because it's the same every year. I was way ahead in my mileage by the end of June, but I have not ridden that much in July, so it will end up the same. I really want to get to 3K miles this year, and the the years I've done this were years I did this Wednesday ride quite a bit. These people are nice, not typical azzhole riders, so I deal. They are not my best friends, but after 11 years, they know me. And, a lot of them overlap with the group I lead for.
I really wish I had started riding much earlier in my life, like when I started doing aerobics at the gym, in my late 20s/early 30s.
If wishes were fishes... yea, the one thing that will make me all kinds of cranky and negative is a co-opted supposed-to-be-cruising ride, and I *don't* get negative fast.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
So... last year "caught up" with you... welp, you're still pretty even though, right? ... I'm reminding myself NOT to be a slave to numbers this weekend because if I ride long I could make up for this week's low mileage but... I wilt in the heat and it's supposed to get to 96 Friday (which since we're on four-day weeks is my "day off - ride long" day). Happily, I *can* tell myself that I am at least a small chunk ahead of last year.
Unhappily, my shoulder is still all tight adn hurting ... I guess I should dig out the heating pad, as absurd as that seems in the heat.
I promised to ride around in a gorilla suit Saturday... I think I'll find my shoulder bags and load them up with ice packs for air conditioning...
Ha, ha, Sue. I am generally not a slave to numbers. I stopped weaing my HR monitor years ago, and while I do look at my stats after a ride, I don't upload them anywhere, except for writing in an old fashioned training log. Since I don't focus on average speed like I used to, most of my "numbers" focus goes to miles ridden in a year. But, any time I start doing more of another sport, it takes away from this. This year it's hiking. A few times, it was running. In the end, I always go back to cycling more. I can handle the gym 2X a week with the amount of riding I do, but not much more. I just am in awe of those who can do the 2x a day workouts on a regular basis. Yeah, I can go to the gym and commute to work, or take a shorter, slower ride, but not much else.
Being the largely internally motivated best I am, yeah, I can also get too hung up on the numbers. I still keep a log of miles ridden, every day and an ongoing monthly tally, but my miles are down quite a bit, this month, because of my mountain bike riding. Miles accumulated in that kind of riding, especially working technical single track, have little in common with miles accumulated via pavement riding on the road bike, so not sure why I bother. I suppose it might be more meaningful to use hours biked when comparing the two types of riding, but even that is iffy. I can promise you this: one hour of work on some of my local single track leaves me huffing and puffing and shaking like no hour of road biking ever has.
On the plus side, though, much to be said for mountain biking back in the deep woods on these hot days. Always shaded and cool, but once back out in the open on the pavement to get back home, the sun can be murder.
This is me. I can usually keep up when I want to, but there are times I just want a nice bike ride. Sometimes I ride to lunch with work colleagues, and one of them has gotten to be a very fast rider. We're riding on a rail-trail with lots of runners/stop signs etc. and he just won't slow down. He'll try, but he just can't help but be pushing the pace. And I can't help but keep up and then at the end I've decided I didn't like the ride anyway. And why in the world would I want to get sweaty at lunch and take the time to shower, etc. if I'm not enjoying it? So I've been avoiding that ride... If I complain about the pace I'll hear "yes, but you were keeping up so I presumed it was ok." I just need to find a way to be more vocal that doesn't make me feel like I'm admitting failure or weakness.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
Our first ride on our vacation was 28 miles of a ride we used to do in the opposite direction. Beautiful and quite hilly, despite only 1,479 ft of climbing. It was warm, but not terrible. Came back and had rum swizzle a by the pool and now off to dinner at a farm to table place for our friend's birthday.
Going to do a short flatter ride tomorrow. There's storms coming in the afternoon.
Yesterday was our last ride in Jackson County, MN, as we have moved farther north in the state now. The wind was blowing hard again, 20 mph sustained from the south, so we chose to do an east-west out and back route. Mostly flat to very lightly rolling along a lovely, smooth county road, so even with a cross wind the entire way, it made for a pretty fast and fun ride. Only negative were the aggressive Red-Winged Blackbirds dive-bombing and squawking at us in various places along the route. Kinda scary! We experienced this back in 2014 when we rode some trails in the upper midwest in June. They get very territorial during nesting season.
Tomorrow we'll be riding part of the Lake Wobegon Trail. We rode a bit of it in 2014 as well, and it was nice, so I am looking forward to it and hoping there aren't too many blackbirds along the way. High is supposed to be in the low 90s with oppressive humidity, so I am not thrilled with that, so at least it will be mostly flat, but sunny. Ugh.
NWG, that's interesting about many MTB manufacturers moving away from 26-ers. Like all other bicycle fads, there's a good chance that things will swing back to smaller wheels eventually, but in the meantime, this makes it harder to find a bike with that wheel size. Have you thought about looking for a used one on ebay? I was lucky enough to buy my wonderful Jamis from Catrin here a few years ago -- a fullie, which was what I wanted, 26" wheels, and fits me perfectly. I will not let it go, especially since 26-ers are getting harder to find!
Emily, yes, I will be looking for used if need be and I suspect you're right about about that size coming back. Probably some good deals out there, right now on 26s, what with all the marketing folks pushing people to buy the bigger wheels sizes
Went to the same technical single track trail that I rode with the 29er, yesterday, but this time with the 26 and I just can't deny the results. Third time I've done this test with both bikes, just to be sure, but results always the same. The 26 climbs better for me because I can accelerate, quickly and instantly, just enough to get me over some steep climbs that had me stalled out with the 29er. The 29er is a better bike for some trails and uses, but I need time to work up some momentum with it to get me over the steep humps. Just not a luxury I have on this single track with all its sharp twists and turns. Also, can make turns with the 26 that I just can't make with the 29.
On the other hand, in this same area, we have some loose gravel and deep sand trails and the 29er plus Trek is a MUCH better bike for that kind of trail and the fat bike even better. This stuff just swallows the 26.
I might see if I can try a 27.5 on this route for comparison.
Well, the forecast lied -- happily. We had pretty big showers around 3 a.m. and it was just plain pleasant, which was good 'cause I didn't get out the door 'til after 9:30. I'd figured I might just do 9 miles but ... ended up with 28, changing the route to avoid the crop spraying... going by people working on roofs and the likes made me really glad it was taking its time to warm up... i'ts 84 now at 12:18 so I suspect we won't get to 91 after all, which is adjusted down already.
Just like last Friday, but a different person -- somebody was out *undoing* my loop! We went by each other twice on the four mile grid :) Since it was abou ttwo miles apart, we were goin' about the same speed... I prefer clockwise 'cause it's right turns.
Love my Fridays off, tho' ... I'm going to do some work related stuff...