Riding in the New Year: January 2018 Rides

Just commutes and urban riding for me…..we did have a good rain storm come through which made for two days of interesting commutes. Our storms are nicer than the other ones posted about this month :)…..50’s/60’s with even heavy rain is nicer than cold and snow...well, for me! Yesterday I rode into downtown L.A. for some photography and to spend time handing out personal hygiene kits (hand/face wipes, sanitizer, deodorant, lip balm, menstrual pads and tampons, also multivitamins and advil) to homeless women. The appreciation given is always an uplifting emotion!

nwg..here’s a photo from yesterday’s ride to show what downtown L.A.’s January is like :)

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and of course a stop at salt and straw on the way home
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leaving tomorrow for some work in the mojave desert and that will give me a couple of good rides on some of my favourite roads

Salt and Straw...lucky you! Drooling...

We've had two wonderfully warm riding days with temps in the 70s even at the mid-morning starts! Amazing how much difference a 90-degree shift in the wind can make, though. Yesterday, SE winds made for a fast and fun ride, but today's SW bluster made our return trip a real slog, as we're pretty much heading NE out and SW back, in general (with some twists and turns along the way). Still, thrilled to be able to wear shorts and SS jerseys for two days, at least! Tomorrow is our laundry, gym, and errand day, and by Thursday, we'll be layering once again...such is winter in Florida. At least there's no snow or ice to contend with!

Thanks for the pics, rebecca. January and flowers. What will they think of next? :)

Our storm didn't quite live up to the forecasted 9" of snow. It was more like 5", but it was a very fine grained snow and driven by a strong wind. 5" of snow is still in the doable range for the fat bikes - usually - but this was nasty. Lots of fishtailing, even with my most aggressive tire bike. I might try some shoveling or even break out the snow-blower, but keeping up with Ma Nature as far as trying to clear trails is a losing battle for me and the hubby. Way too physical for both of us at our age. Looks like I'll be mostly fat biking riding our local roads after the plows have come through. Let them do the work.

I did use the fresh snow for some cross country skiing, though. At least the skis don't care about the snow depth, other than it takes a lot of work to break the trail, initially. With each pass, though, the skiing gets easier.

So, bottom line, looks like the rest of our long winter is going to be more of an equal mix between the skis and the bikes.

I followed that snow storm on social media, as it hit the day a relative moved (i.e., drove his pickup truck) from Nebraska to Chicago. Fortunately the worse road conditions were farther north and he made it okay, with mostly rain. Then the storm passed through here yesterday, all rain, which was a good thing because it washed most of the salt from the roads.

I ended up with no bike ride last weekend. I did the women's march on Saturday, which was a beautiful warm and sunny day. Then I was going to go for a ride on Sunday but just couldn't get motivated. I have to learn a bunch of new IT-related things for work as quickly as possible, and I think that contributed to my preference to stay inside. Also it was cloudy and just cool enough to make me unsure as to how many layers of clothes I would need. And as Crankin said, not getting in much cycling in January-February helps me start out with a better attitude in March.

I do still need exercise, though, so will hit the indoor trainer again tonight. This time I will try a different portion of Coach Troy's Lake Placid video. But first I have more work-related training videos to watch.

Well, today . it's a good thing to have spare sweatpants in the office cabinet, fortunately *two* sweatpants because it was 28 degrees on the ride home.
Tomorrow should get to 48 :-) Might get out for the lunch laps...

I always enjoy being/working in the California high desert, especially with its closeness to the Eastern Sierra’s. I got a couple of good rides in this past week. When in the area my favourite is always the Sierra’s Whitney Portal Rd. It reminds me of the beauty of the French Alps. Few cars this time of year makes it even better. I rode along the base of the mountains and then Whitney Portal Rd into the foothills of Mount Whitney. Just 41 miles and 4700+ ft of gain but with many moments of taking in the medative calmness of the views and then just being in my body on the climbs. A needed balance to my usual urban riding…..

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And on the ride back down, views of the very different landscape of the high desert.
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When in the area I always stop at the Japanese WW2 internment camp at Manzanar. Lessons learned from the irrational fear/hate and ignorance of that time should be on more people’s minds in the U.S., now especially…….

The Manzanar cemetery obelisk which honors those who died while being held in the camp. The Kanji characters read ‘soul consoling tower’
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What a beautiful place to ride, Rebecca. Unlike when most of us take pictures, your photographs really DO do it justice. Thank you, as always, for sharing your views and insights!

Plus one on your pics, rebecca. Wow! Oh Wow! Oh Wow!

We actually hit a hot forty degrees, yesterday. Got a little snow melting and didn't have to bundle up with the clothes to my usual winter extreme. Parts of our neighborhood paved roads are down to bare pavement, now. Almost forgot what it was like to ride on dry pavement. :) I do keep some of my backyard trails cleared of snow, thanks mostly to a snowblower and some shoveling, so yesterday was a combo ride of road and trail. Of course, I know better than to think we are anywhere close to being spring, but it sure was nice.

Yup, it feels like March, and we even have the wind. Currently 51 degrees, but with sustained winds of 15 mph and gusts up to 30. So, no riding. Yes, I am a wind weenie. Did see a small group of riders I know out earlier this afternoon, and a couple of solo riders. We walked to the village for lunch, and back, around 4 miles. Plan to get out there tomorrow, even for an hour on the bike. Then, we are hiking with our son and granddaughter.

Thanks Emily....nwg, thanks and happy to read of a warmer day for you!!!!

Being gone for a few days I want to be lazy and just be with alex today. We did ride to the farmers market this morning for veggie’s, fruits and cheese. Now a blood orange, tangerine, fresh burrata, spinach and arugula salad with toasted olive bread and a marathon of netflix’s black mirror with alex ftw :)

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Yup, it feels like March, and we even have the wind. Currently 51 degrees, but with sustained winds of 15 mph and gusts up to 30. So, no riding. Yes, I am a wind weenie. Did see a small group of riders I know out earlier this afternoon, and a couple of solo riders. We walked to the village for lunch, and back, around 4 miles. Plan to get out there tomorrow, even for an hour on the bike. Then, we are hiking with our son and granddaughter.

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We had wind like that on Thursday and Friday -- sustained were between 15-20 and gusts to 30. Crazily, we rode, but it was only fun when we had a tailwind, about 25% of the rides, and brutal hard most of the time. On both rides I had much lower than usual average speeds, no surprise! I guess a small benefit of riding in such wind is that today, when the winds were "only" in the 10 mph range (with gusts to maybe 15), I had a much faster average speed and felt so much stronger on the same route. What doesn't kill ya', right? :rolleyes:

Well, after all my best and most courageous efforts to keep riding in the snow, no matter what, I have to throw in the towel and admit defeat - at least, temporarily. Our midweek thaw melted snow on my trails, then froze back to glare ice at various spots in the trail. Slickest ice I've ever seen. Even the studded fat bike tires at their lowest psi dumped me, twice, this morning. No warning. Just instantly down. No injuries, though, thanks to falling in the snow and thanks to going deliberately slow, but when studded fat bike tires can't stay upright, time to head indoors on the trainer. Love my snow biking, but not enough to risk a serious injury.

Smart, NWG. So glad you weren't hurt, but glad you are smart enough not to risk injury on that ice. Spring WILL come, even in the north woods!

In the meantime, hope the inside trainer rides aren't too unbearable. Hang in there!

Thanks, Emily. I really do hate riding, indoors, but I hate getting injured, worse and you know better than most of us how rough that can be. Did I mention that you're an inspiration to me in that regard? You really are. You get my vote for the tough cookie award.

Onwards to spring ... some day. :)

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Originally Posted by north woods gal

You get my vote for the tough cookie award.

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i want two votes....one for each of you :).....and it's not a defeat, it's wisdom :)

beautiful day here...middle 70's made for a nice ride to the office for a couple of hours of work

Good choice, NWG. I take a pragmatic attitude toward activity at this time of year. As long as I am doing something, it's good. This mindset helps me to dive back into riding full time.

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Originally Posted by north woods gal

Thanks, Emily. I really do hate riding, indoors, but I hate getting injured, worse and you know better than most of us how rough that can be. Did I mention that you're an inspiration to me in that regard? You really are. You get my vote for the tough cookie award.

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Well, thank you! I am inspired by you as well. I could never ride in the conditions you face for most of the year. You are fierce!

And rebeccaC, you get a huge warrior vote from me as well. You have been through far more than I have, and your spirit remains so strong (as well as your body...those are some major climbs you do!)

This is one of the reasons I love TE -- inspiring women!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by north woods gal

Well, after all my best and most courageous efforts to keep riding in the snow, no matter what, I have to throw in the towel and admit defeat - at least, temporarily. Our midweek thaw melted snow on my trails, then froze back to glare ice at various spots in the trail. Slickest ice I've ever seen. Even the studded fat bike tires at their lowest psi dumped me, twice, this morning. No warning. Just instantly down. No injuries, though, thanks to falling in the snow and thanks to going deliberately slow, but when studded fat bike tires can't stay upright, time to head indoors on the trainer. Love my snow biking, but not enough to risk a serious injury.

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Glare ice ... pretty impossible! Glad they were soft landings!! I rolled my eyes at our radio guy saying we might have a "few, light flurries." Sorry, dude, they're *sticking* -- that's at least "heavy flurries" :) Still, it was enough below freezing on the lightly traveled roads so it hadn't slicked up... I just got my Transport back from the shop w/ hydraulic brakes on the back and stopping is much much much much better than before w/ worn-out brake pads and crud in the cables :)

Thanks, all. The landings were in the snow because our snow depth is so tall (thigh high, now) on both sides of the narrow trails I've cleared, there's nowhere else to fall. :) Now, had I been riding out on the road, it would have been bad. Bouncing off pavement is not fun. Been there, done that one.

Yes, rebecca, you get my vote for tough cookie, too. Make it a double.

Might grab the XC skis and try out on the lake, today. Pretty safe skiing on the wide expanse of flats. I'll be outdoors and that sure beats sitting on the trainer, indoors. Have I mentioned how much I HATE being trapped indoors all day?

Hello all. Catching up again. Those photos really are beautiful, Rebecca.

Last week I had planned to do some indoor training. That did not happen, due to working very late several nights. On Saturday I got out and enjoyed the 60-degree sunshine with a 35-mile club ride. We had some wind gusts but (a) they were from the south, much better than from the north this time of year!, and (b) the wind was not constant for our afternoon ride, whereas friends who rode in the morning reported steady winds during their entire rides. So we really had great conditions and were happy to be wearing vests and arm warmers in January.

My legs were not happy, though. I've only been off the bike for a month, but it felt more like a year. From the very first hill I felt a total lack of strength. I had ridden the same route back in October and I swear the hills somehow have grown since then. But everyone I rode with had been taking a winter break from the bike, so we all just enjoyed being outside instead of trying to hammer.

We had a rest stop at a park where a group of scouts were camping for the weekend. Apparently they do this every year, including years when we have lots of snow. Chapeau to them! They were planning an "Iron Chef" competition for dinner.

After the ride my legs were aching as I drove around running errands. Too much lactic acid. I usually only feel that way after long, challenging rides. So this was my inspiration to get more exercise while I wait for spring weather. I'm going to increase the leg exercises when I do weight training and will have to shift into a higher gear on the indoor rides.

We wimped out because of the wind; I don't like it, but DH hates it even more. Next time he wimps out, I am going. We did walk our usual 4 mile RT to the village and had lunch. It rained overnight on Saturday and though it was warm, still, the roads were wet during the short time window I had to ride on Sunday. We went to my son's in the afternoon and brought hiking shoes for what I thought would be an easy walk on the trails by his house. So, me, DH, DS, and granddaughter in a very fancy backpack/carrier set out for what turned out to be a 3 mile hike around the local pond, with some small hills. There was still a bit of ice in places, but it was mostly just mud or hard packed. He lives in a much more urban area, and it kind of amazed me this was right there. We've been to the pond (it's a beach for the residents), but I had no idea there were trails. When we got to the end of the loop, a couple and their 2 kids were letting their younger son ride his bike around the lot. With no helmet. DH and DS begged me not to open my big mouth, so I didn't. But, it was hard.

I hear ya, Crankin. Whenever I see kids riding bikes without helmets, I feel like yelling at the parents, or at least speaking to them about it calmly. But beng unrelated, I keep my mouth shut. It is hard!

The wind bothers me more than DH. I think because I'm so light, I get blown around more than DH; he has more power to battle through the gusts. We skipped riding yesterday because it was in the low 50s with a stiff north breeze. So, I did laundry and went to the gym instead. Today looks to be in the mid-50s to around 60 with an east wind, not quite as high, so we'll pull on the tights and layers and get out there around 10:30. At least it's sunny!