April Rides

some spring riding for all still having bad weather...

Alex was traveling for a conference so I decided to do some solo rides on Santa Ynez valley roads and Figueroa mountain road last weekend. It’s just a 90+ min drive to Los Olivos and a wonderful small hotel which has a great spa too. Spent last Sat. riding Figueroa which still has some winter road damage and that made for only two cars on the ride. There were a number of other riders though which led to some good interactions…met an interesting woman who lives in the area. She liked my homemade energy bars and we had a good talk where we stopped at the top. I was stopping for photography so we said goodbye on the descent. It was slower climbs and especially descents because of road conditions but the views were worth it, especially in contemplative meditation value.

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she’s ‘cloud hidden whereabouts unknown’….
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and one of the most beautiful descents I’ve done
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Then on Sunday Foxen Canyon road for a relaxing ride on the valley floor through farm country. The area is becoming more popular with cyclists because of the beauty and the variation of the kinds of rides you can do on less traveled roads.

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Wow, what gorgeous terrain, but so mountainous -- I would die. Love the valley rides, though. How lovely to see empty roads from down here in crowded central Florida. Thanks for posting these beautiful images, Rebecca!

Makes me want to pack up and come out there for a ride, Rebecca. You are truly fortunate to live in such a beautiful area and, as always, your photography is stunning. That-you, so much. I will carry those images with me for the next few days. Really helps.

Emily, come on up for a visit, this summer, if you want to avoid crowds. Hundreds of miles of paved roads though beautiful north woods with very little traffic. Mostly rolling hills, but nothing extreme. Our hottest days are in the 80s. You'll more likely see deer than another bicyclist, maybe even a bear. :)

As for us, one more day of riding, today, but then the big storm, now called Winter Storm Xanto, hits, though no certainty, at this point, how much snow we'll get, though it could be over a foot.

thanks all. I do indeed feel blessed to live where i do. Emily...happy belated birthday wishes!!!!!....and there are some really nice RV parks in that area too for your west coast trip :)
...and Sheila/nwg...you were both on my mind on parts of the ride so you were both kinda there too :) and...we do have a spacious guest en suite bedroom!!!!!

We've gone from gray 40s on Monday to sunny, breezy 70s and 80s on Thursday and Friday. I rode last night after work. It was 73 when I started and 72 when I returned. I started out in tights, vest and arm warmers because the breeze felt very cool, but within a few miles was cramming the extra layers in my handlebar bag and riding in shorts and short sleeves. The breeze did have me concerned and thinking that maybe I should have ridden the night before when it was in the 50s. But luckily my route was mostly sheltered enough for me to completely forget about it until after I got home and needed a jacket while unloading the car.

As for that route -- I did my old hill ride, for the first time in about a year I think. I was very slow, even on the flatter roads near the end, but was able to get up all the hills without too much burning in my quads. One negative was that I'm still having issues with chafing from my shorts. Unfortunately I think it is because my shorts are tighter than they should be due to weight gain over the past few months. Getting back to regular riding should help to lose a few pounds, so I'm hoping this is is a temporary condition. (Okay really I must do more than hope! I'm making progress cutting out the afternoon and evening snacks, too. And sometimes I go crazy with "healthy snacks" like dried fruit so I have stopped buying those foods. I swear I am addicted to dried cranberries so it's not easy...)

Tomorrow we're in for another 80 degree day so I'm planning a club ride. It will be longer than I'm really ready for but I will be content to just ride slowly and appreciate all the trees that have begun to flower.

So the warm-is weather arrived, but it's not really gorgeous out. It was 48 when I rode to the gym at 5:15 am for my class, not the 53 as predicted. But it had rained around dinner time last night, so it still had a warmish, humid feeling. When I left the gym, it felt colder, and it was 47 when I got home at 6:45. By then, it was sunny. I debated if I would ride to the office, as that point DH was going to come home and ride in the afternoon. But, I did ride, wearing a new cycling dress I got at Terry, for 40% off. It's awesome, and I paired it with my commuter/spin knickers, a bolero, and a vest for the ride in.It's not a Terry brand, and is beautifully made. By then, it was partly cloudy, still a little cool feeling, though 57 degrees. Got to work, did a quick take off the knickers and exchange for underwear, and did my women's group. It was cloudier and 60 when I went home. I decided to ride home a longer way, as I was feeling like I didn't want to go out again, andI suspected DH might get delayed. So, I ended up with 11.5 miles of utility cycling and I was glad I made the choice, because DH didn't get home until 3:30.
The high temperature was 69, but it still felt cool out, due to lack of sun.
Going out in the AM, for a real ride, before the cold front comes in and then a few hours of babysitting my granddaughter, before going out for Mexican food tomorrow night.

I thought I'd posted this here, but apparently not.

I wrenched my back on my last ride, Thursday. :( I was coming up a small rise I've ridden 100s of times, at the end of our usual route, when I felt something pull hard in my lower right back. Fortunately, we were two miles from home at that point, so I didn't have far to go in pain. It hurt pretty bad the rest of that day, especially when bending over at the waist and rising from a seated to standing position. Did not ride with DH (who is usually the one with back issues, not me!) yesterday as a result. :(

It's getting better day by day but still making itself known. I won't attempt to ride for a few days since it's the weekend (very busy on the bike path), and we are leaving Monday and driving the motorhome north for a week at a state park in the Florida panhandle -- finally get to see the beach! I hope to do some casual rides there, as there's a bike path, but I will let the back be my guide. At least it will be flat -- and walking doesn't seem to bother it, so I can walk on the beach. :)

Emily, so sorry to hear about the back thing. Been there with my bicycling. Sometimes these things just come out of nowhere and you're left wondering why. That's the frustrating part. In one instance, for me, it was a nerve that was getting pinched from all my miles from riding in one position on the road bike, day after day. The repetitive stress kind of thing. Anyway, hope you're feeling better, soon.

Well, the big storm is about to hit us, this afternoon. All kinds of storm warnings for over a foot of snow, high winds, blizzard conditions and so on. Keep wondering, where's April? Going to try riding the fat bike on the trail while I can. Might be weeks - again - before I can.

Did change out the tires on the Krampus 29 plus, yesterday. The stock Dirt Wizard 29x3s are a very aggressive trail tire with heavy lugs for riding in mud and soft dirt, but are pretty clumsy and slow for road work. When I ride trails that are soft and/or muddy, I'll use my fat bike, instead. The wider tires on the fat bikes don't chew up soft trails as bad. Might not sound like a big deal to some, but I really HATE damaging a trail, mine or any others.

Anyway, replaced the Dirt Wizards with a new set of the Maxxis Chronicle 29x3s which have a much better all purpose tread. Road the Chronicles on pavement, yesterday, and was very pleased at how nice they ride, then rode some mud and sand trails and they did fine on those, too. On plus and fat bikes, tires make such a big difference in handling and performance, even more so than on the skinny bikes. With the big tires, you have a lot more contact with the ground.

I hope your back is better, Emily. It was around this time last year I had my acute episode, but so far, the stretches the PT prescribed are keeping it at bay. My job makes it worse, from sitting; I try to get up in between clients and I've been known to shut my door to use the foam roller, but it's making me think I may quit sooner than later!
So the weather people have been correct. DH and I went out to ride at 9:15, it was already 55 and sunny, but it was breezy. We decided to "just ride" and not follow a GPS route. So we ended up doing 26.5 miles, plenty of climbing, though not the one we thought we might do. The biggest one is a long slog over 2 highways. It's the last thing we do at the end of a very hard 50 mile ride, with about 3K ft. of climbing. It didn't feel that bad today, but it is longer than most of the short steep climbs we encounter. We were about 7-8 miles from home, when it clouded over. It had gone up to 58 degrees, was back down to 55. It felt cold! Next comes the icy rain and sleet overnight and tomorrow. Lovely.
I felt much better today than my ride Wednesday. I think it was allergies and no sleep. Speed was better, not where I want it to be, but we did climb a lot. Tons of riders out. We saw the front 2 riders in a large group get pulled over by the policeman Littleton. God knows what they did. I suspect something funky either in an kind of weird intersection near there, or something going down Oak Hill.

hoping everything heals quickly emily!!!

Alex isn't back until tomorrow night so i've been spending more time working this past week including today....so just commutes and shopping rides for me. Tomorrow I'll just do a ride into downtown for some photography. It's been in the 70's here at the beach and reaching into the 80's inland

Oh my, feel better soon Emily! Hopefully some rest and a bit of heat will set you right. Enjoy your beach walking - and riding!

Thanks, friends! My back is SO much better. By last night I barely noticed it, and this morning, not at all, other than the usual morning slight stiffness. I am going to the gym in a bit and will do a gentle workout. If anything hurts, I'll not do that. :)

NWG, been thinking of you with the awful storm. I just can't believe that kind of storm is still hitting in April.

We are due to get 20-30 mph winds and t-storms today. We'll be getting our site ready to leave (tomorrow morning), moving plants under the picnic table, stuff like that, and glad we hadn't planned to ride today anyway! It's still supposed to be breezy tomorrow and will hurt our gas mileage as we'll have a headwind on our drive to the Panhandle, but at least it should be calmer than today -- so glad we aren't leaving today.

It's definitely January 127th. Stepped outside to get the newspaper and the biting wind hit me in the face. The icy rain hasn't started yet, though.
I did a 30 minute yoga DVD earlier, and I think that will be the exercise for the day.
Emily, I went on the website for that t shirt company, and there was nothing like the ones you bought. They do a lot of custom orders, so I suspect yours may have been part of one of those.
Have fun on your trip!
North Woods, hope all is well in the storm.

Woke up, this morning to 8" of snow and that's only half of what we're forecast to get by the time the storm leaves, come morning. Had a great ride on our trails, yesterday, before the storm hit, one of my best of the winter, even if it was mid-April.

I finally did it. After all my best efforts not to ride indoors on the trainer, all winter long, I threw in the towel, yesterday afternoon and set up my old vintage Kona MTB on the trainer. Again, just when I thought I had made it an entire winter without any indoor riding, April decides it's a winter month. In fact, we've had more snow in April, this year, than any other winter month. Go figure.

Still, I am able to ride, if only on the trainer, so ride I will.

Talk about contrast. I follow National Weather Service twitter accounts for Chicago and Omaha, due to having family in those areas. I also follow local meteorologists who were sharing news from Minnesota. All day yesterday it was snow, blizzard, slippery, ice, white out, and more than one "uffda." But here it was sunny with a high of 86.

I led a 39 mile ride between the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The forecast near the bay was 70, but it was much warmer than that. It was a bit breezy, but that was actually a good thing because it provided relief from the heat. Some trees are already losing their flowers, some are blooming and some still bare with just a hint of green buds. But none have leaves yet so there was no shade. A couple of riders in the group were slow due to mechanical issues and needing to avoid aggravating injuries, so I stopped often to wait for them to catch up. The result was a long day in the hot sun with no breaks in the shade. I was glad that it was not cold, but could have done without the headache that developed near the end. One good thing about riding slowly and frequent stops was that my legs did not feel worn out despite my lack of fitness.

I still had some saddle/chamois problems, and thought about tightening the tension on the saddle. Then I realized that when I tightened it recently to resolve the sharp peak that developed at the back, I also removed all the sway from the center. So I loosened it a bit, and I think that helped.

Now we have a "back door cold front," which is a front from the east. Since the Atlantic Ocean is east of us, that always mean cold, damp, gray and periods of rain. We're expecting the heaviest rain tonight into the morning rush hour. ( And thanks to major roadwork starting this weekend on the highway I take to work, traffic tomorrow morning will be a double-disaster, but I digress.) So today is a day to get things done indoors. I think the weather will improve in a few days so I should be able to get in a mid-week ride.

Crankin, that's too bad about the t-shirts. I expect you're right. Probably some cool LBS gal came up with those and ordered them custom.

Also, I told my mother about your "January 127th" comment yesterday when we did our once a week Skype call, and she laughed out loud. Much appreciated! :D But sorry you're having to live through it.

We have friends who spend six months each year in St. Paul, MN at their home and six months in Belize, in their oceanfront condo. They leave for MN around the first week in May. I am sure they are very happy for this schedule. Hopefully by May, January will be over! For all of you! :eek:

Well, it's not snow here, so while I like snow in the *winter,* not in mid-April. Currently it's light freezing drizzle, but the temperature is going to start going up around 11 pm. So, hopefully, no issues on my early morning drive to the gym. But, it is going to be pouring, I mean pouring all day tomorrow, until after dinner. I cannot imagine the poor people who are running the marathon tomorrow. It will be between 40 and 50, pouring, and windy. Hypothermia, ugh. Just about all of the Patriot's Day festivities have been cancelled; the battle re-enactments at the North Bridge and Lexington Common, the parade in Concord, and several Minutemen companies are not marching to the bridge, since there's nothing happening. In 28 years, I've never seen this, nor do I remember this as a kid. Oh, and the Red Sox game is cancelled. There's thousands of tourists here for the historical re-enactments, and I guess they will all be shopping!

After a day of digging out, I hit the trainer for a short thirty minute workout. All I had in me after a day of shoveling snow, but it still counts as riding in my book. Today will be much the same, since more snow, overnight. Here's a pic of our patio table with 13" of accumulated snow from this last storm. Looking ahead, we may actually hit 50 degrees by Sunday, so that's something.

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Impressive, looks like February!
Just got back from doing a few errands; it is frightful out there, pouring rain, being driven right in your face by 30 mph winds from the NE, the cold direction. What a waste of my holiday. At least if it was snow,I could ski or snow shoe. Went to my regular 5:30 am class at the gym, despite it being a holiday here. Probably should have planned to do something later in the day, instead. So far, all of my attempts at making plans have not worked, and DH is leaving for NJ for 3 days, after lunch.
Oh well, things look good for the weekend.

Got the bikes ready last weekend, all set to go riding... and it's 27 degrees and snowing. Went swimming instead.

Crazy...I didn't realize it was any kind of holiday, but I did see some coverage of the Boston Marathon on the news, and it looked miserable!

In the meantime, it's still too cold for my blood in Florida, even. We drove our motorhome up to the panhandle yesterday and are in a lovely state park near the beach. This morning's low was 46. In Florida, in April, really? When I booked these reservations awhile ago, I certainly didn't expect this. Shoulda waited until May. Last year it was HOT in April, though. We're supposed to hit 73 today, and that will feel good, but it's still quite a bit cooler than normal.

I saw an article indicating that most of the US would have below normal temps through April. Maybe May will finally bring springtime? One can dream? :D Stay warm, y'all!

No spring yet, here, but, of course, I have to expect that at this latitude. After spending the morning digging out from this last storm, I checked our local roads to see if they're ridable. They have been plowed, but are still mostly snow and ice-covered. Nevertheless, I was tempted to go for a ride, but just didn't have the energy after hours of work with the shovel. 30 mph wind gusts out of the north and a temp in the mid 20s didn't help, either. Hit the trainer for a good workout and called it good.

As for clearing my trails, I only got thirty feet with the snowblower. The snow is way to deep now for even a snowblower, so will have to let Nature do the clearing for me. Looks like I'm going to be a road warrior for awhile. :)

Did just short of 10 miles of laps on our area paved roads. About half snow packed and half dry, so they should clear up, quick, with some nice weather. Stopped and visited with a neighbor. She told me that the Weather Bureau reports that we officially had 18.8" of snow, making it 100 inches of snow for the winter. That makes it the 3rd snowiest winter on record and only 10" short of the all-time record, a once in a hundred year snowy winter.

That makes me feel a little better, knowing that I probably won't see another winter like this one, but, of course, who knows? Climate change/global warming is throwing all the norms out of whack. Anyway, good to be out and riding. Sure beats staying indoors.

We had a fun ride today in the Santa Rosa Beach area of Florida's panhandle. We took a long beach walk in the morning, then got ready to ride out to lunch on the bike path along 30A. Found out when we got a couple miles west of our campground that two miles of the path was currently closed/torn up and being redone, so we had to ride along the highway, no shoulder. That two miles really dragged, as we had a headwind when we headed out, and traffic wa a bit heavier than I would have preferred. Fortunately, once we got through that part, the path picked back up, and we got to the restaurant we'd planned on for fish tacos for lunch on their "Taco Tuesday".

When we arrived and went to lock our bikes, we discovered that we had no lock! DH was supposed to bring it but somehow got distracted at the last minute and forgot it. Fortunately, there are a lot of bike shops along the path, so we backtracked a couple miles, bought a lock, and headed back to the restaurant. Had delicious fish tacos + a beer, then headed back. Riding along the road was not bad at all on the way back, as we had a tailwind, and traffic was lighter since the lunch rush was over.

All in all, a really fun time. Temps were in low 70s with bright sunshine and super low humidity. Hardly feels like Florida, but was very nice indeed, particularly after waking up to 46 degrees this morning. Sunshine warmed things up quickly!

Got in a touch over 18 miles. First time I've ridden my MTB in a long time, and that was fun. The path surface isn't always great, so I decided to ride that instead of the roadie for that reason, and it was a good choice.

That sounds like so much fun, Emily. I started researching commuter/in town type bikes yesterday while I was home in the frightful rainstorm. I came across a great review in Bicycling of mostly women's commuter/hybrids/gravel bikes, from cheap to expensive. At least 4 I will checkout. I learned from clicking on some of the links that there are no extra smalls anywhere in the country of the new Trek commuter.
The holiday is Patriot's Day. It's only celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine. Perhaps Connecticut. It's all about the the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Yes, my little town swells with tourists for about 2 weeks, visiting the historical sites, watching the re-enactments, etc. The marathon is always on Patriot's Day. Schools have their spring vacation this week, too.
I seriously do not know how any of those people finished the marathon. I could barely stand going out to do 2 errands in that storm.
I am going to ride with my friend Jack tomorrow, and possibly his wife will come, too.

Thanks for explaining about the holiday, Crankin! I figured it was Tax Day, not a holiday in my book. ;-) Spring break here has come and gone at various weeks in March. I'll be interested to hear about your town/commuter bike search. Hope it's not impossible to find a small one! Doesn't make sense that Trek can't make more of a size that is obviously quite popular. :mad:

Emily, nice to hear you got out on the MTB. I used mine as a commuter in my Chicago days for much the same reason. Those Chicago suburb roads on my commute were very rough in places. That, and I had to bike in all kinds of weather since I didn't have a car. Lastly, I found that a good MTB makes for a safer commuter. Gets your head up higher, but also that quick acceleration allowed me to scoot out of the way in a couple of dangerous situations and avoid being hit. Still have the bike and am currently in the process of adding new tires, grips and so on. Hope to ride it, this summer ... if we get a summer, that is. :)

Crankin, you might want to keep an eye open for a used 26" MTB. Lots of them around and they can be had, cheap, cheap, cheap, now that the bike companies have mostly abandoned the 26" wheel for MTBs and gone with the 27.5 (sore spot and pet peeve for me). A lot of bike shops won't even take 26ers in on trades , now, even ones with very high end components. If you need a small bike, the 26" wheels are an ideal wheel size.

I don't want a mountain bike; I rode a very nice 26" Voodoo as my first bike in 2000-2002. I just don't like the feeling of riding that geometry on the road. Although, I am still mad at my older son, whom we gave the bike to for commuting, for leaving it in the storage of his apartment when he bought his home. It was DH's first mountain bike, which he was able to set up for someone as small as me, as well as himself and my son, who are 5' 7." I want a "cool" looking commuter, most likely on a hybrid platform. Still not sold on needing disc brakes, although many, if not all of the cheaper ones have them. I am more concerned with the gearing. Not the gear combos, but which group set. I don't want something so cheap it will be a pain and not shift right. It will be fun shopping.
I rode 27.5 miles this morning, with my friend, Jack. He is what most would call a "character," and his riding kit today included screaming turquoise and pink running shorts, over a variety of tights and other things from the 80s. Although the weather people called today the pick of the week, it was windy, partly cloudy, and 45 when we left. We were heading straight into the wind, too. I told him I was enormously slow, so he started off really slowly, but I didn't mind, since I always need more warm up time than most, and the wind... things were fine until we went up a very hard hill in a neighborhood in South Chelmsford. Somehow, I never expect these hills in neighborhoods, not sure why! It did me in ,and after that, I really felt like cr*p and was struggling to keep up on the smaller rollers. But, I persevered, as I had woken up with all of my weird autoimmune symptoms, and it pretty much is something I have to just get through, or I would be at home, on my couch most of the time. With about 10 miles left to go, we stopped and I ate half a bar, which helped immensely. Once we turned on the main road, with 6 miles left to go, the tailwind kicked in, which, thankfully, pushed my average into the barely acceptable range.
I am glad I went, but before I left, 2 annoying things happened. First, there's been a change in the way you get files from a Ride With GPS link, and while I could put the link into my rides folder, I couldn't get it into my Garmin. It didn't matter for this ride, so I went to get ready and the pocket zipper on my wind jacket got stuck, after I had put my phone, money, etc in there. When I got home, I was able to move it enough, to get the stuff out, but it may be trashed, although I am hoping DH can fix it. This zipper has been finicky since day one. I had to bring it to be repaired after the first time I wore it. Hopefully I will have it for the weekend,when we are out in western MA with our friends.

A zipper on my large suitcase got stuck that way a couple of weeks ago and I haven't been able to unstick it. Very annoying. I've been trying the "leave it alone and hope it magically comes unstuck" approach.

Today is our best day of the week, in terms of weather. Though it was very cold this morning with freeze warnings overnight, it has warmed up and should be about 60 for a high. Most important for me the forecast temperature is above 50 through the night, as winds change from the south today to north or northwest tomorrow. So I plan to go for a another hill ride and am hoping to be slightly less slow compared to last week.

We were running errands in town this afternoon and stopped at our local sporting goods store, which also carries bike stuff. Got two cell phone holders for the bikes, but we got to gabbing with one of the gals we knew, there, then forgot and walked off without the cell phone holders. They called us when we got home and told us they would hold them. I figured I might as well ride the bike the 5 miles into town to get them as my ride for the day. Grabbed the Pugsley and went for a ride.

Still a lot of slush on the road, but the Pugsley with its fat tires didn't even notice. What I did notice was the terrible roads in our little town (population 7000). After our long, hard winter, some of them are a pothole minefield. Some stretches would have swallowed a road bike. The Pugs, of course, just rolled over them. Really no worse than trail riding over rocks and tree roots. Didn't bother to go around most of them. That sort of take whatever comes your way on a ride and keep on rolling is why my Pugsley has become such a friend. I do have some much more advanced and up to date bikes, but the Pugs would be the last bike I would ever sell.

Ha, ha. I like the description of the potholes. We had some so bad a couple of weeks ago, they were more craters than holes. They were filled quite quickly, as it was really dangerous.
DH was able to fix the zipper, but it will need to be approached gingerly. He has the same jacket, but never uses the pocket, choosing to put his stuff in his jersey pockets. I think this is dumb, but perhaps I may have to start using this strategy.
Today is a rest day from all exercise. Tomorrow is bootcamp, and perhaps a little ride or just commute to lunch with a friend. The weather looks fabulous (50s and sun) for our weekend in western MA. Finally. And, next week, in the 60s.

Given that I've been pretty consistent about reporting on our extreme weather, thought I would balance things out and report that we are scheduled for about a week of weather with temps in the 50s. To say I am relieved and happy is an understatement. Still have a LOT of melting to do before I can ride trails, but our paved roads are already open and will only get better with more melting. Don't want to jinx it and say spring is here, but it is getting into late April, after all.

I did ride last night, as planned. Averaged speed was about 0.1 mph less slow than last week. So, progress! ;) I did feel better than last week. My quads were pretty tired at the end but that was normal since it was a hill workout.

As noted in the thread I started over in the apparel section, I decided I need a reflective windbreaker for night rides. It was in the high 50s for the whole ride (16 miles and almost two hours including a snack break, from 9:30 pm until almost 11:30). I think it was a bit humid. For the first couple of miles I was a bit underdressed, then was okay during the hilly part -- warm enough going up and chilled on the descents. But in the last few flat miles I was cold. I was wearing a wool long sleeved base layer, short sleeved jersey, fleecy arm warmers and a wind vest. I think if I'd been wearing a windbreaker instead of the arm warmers and vest I would have been unzipping and re-zipping a lot on the hills, but overall would probably have been more comfortable.

We are having so much fun riding here at the beach! I had no idea this little stretch of the US even existed in the Florida panhandle, but it is a big deal. Google "30A Florida" if you don't believe me. The bike path isn't ideal, as there are many driveways and road crossings, but it's fun to tool along from beach town to beach town (one in which every building and home is white!), go by several pretty lakes, occasionally catch a peekaboo view of the ocean, and have the ability to stop at little shops, restaurants, bakeries, and a zillion bike shops along the way. You just can't worry about speed, as you have to deal with slow/novice riders, some walkers, construction, and other things that slow you down, but in between, you can zip along pretty well.

I agree with you, nwg, it is a shame about the 26" wheel MTBs going the way of penny farthings. I have really enjoyed riding my MTB these past few days, and just can't imagine riding one with larger wheels at my size. It feels like a big bike anyway, compared to my Bike Friday with 20" wheels, my beach cruiser with 24" wheels, and even my 700c skinny-tired roadie, just because that bike is so much lighter and more streamlined. My MTB shifts very well, accelerates quickly, fits me perfectly, and since it's a full suspension, really smooths out all the bumps and cracks and occasional potholes or gravel areas of the trail. It is really a pleasure to ride, and with a rack (which I have, but not here) and smooth tires makes a fine "town" bike.

Yesterday we managed 27 miles in three rides -- one long and two brief (out to dinner and over to walk on the beach). At our very slow average speed here (10-11ish), that's more time in the saddle than it sounds. Today we took it easy and only put in 11 miles in three rides: one to Publix for some groceries, and again out to dinner and to the beach. We also walked at least 8 miles, mostly on the beach.

We'll probably ride again tomorrow, but not Saturday, as I can only imagine the zoo the path will be that day! That will be a beach walking and dune hiking (there are some trails) day instead, before we head back to central Florida on Sunday.

Whoa…three posts in a row about improving weather…….glad to hear it. :)

NY…..maybe I missed it but how did the floors come out?

Emily….30A looks like our 26 mile beach path…ours may be less crowded because of its more isolated location right on the beach for the majority of its length but it can also be too busy going through parts of venice and santa monica during the day, especially weekends and summer times. A couple of miles on quiet side streets and alleys can get you through both areas, quicker and easier than riding the path, and then back to a much less crowded path for the final 8 miles north. Here is the part of the bike path that goes by the back of our building and then for 16 miles going south on the least populated part of the path. Most of the path has a separate walking path which does help some.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/821/4...86db4ac4_c.jpg


I run 26/1.5's on my urban bianchi commuter and luv them for city riding and not so well paved roads/alleys.
....just commutes for me….a nice rain this morning made it interesting

It's sunny!
I just saw a FB post from Prospect Mountain, in southern Vt, the last place I went Nordic skiing. They are *still* completely open and had 4 inches of snow yesterday. The place is at elevation, 2,200 ft, but it's only 8 miles from Bennington, VT. To say that this is most unusual for a nordic ski center to be open on April 20 would be putting it mildly!
Boot camp was really hard today; she tried a new format, so I think I am going to skip riding to my lunch. Of course, if it's really nice when it's time to go, one never knows.

Love the post, Emily, about riding from town to town with all that shopping and things to see along the way. It's one thing we do NOT have in our rural area and one of the things I do miss from my years of bicycling and commuting in more urban areas. I'll always be a country girl at heart, but having bike paths and places to stop and shop made city life bearable for me. I miss it, sometimes. Thanks for the post.

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Originally Posted by north woods gal

Love the post, Emily, about riding from town to town with all that shopping and things to see along the way. It's one thing we do NOT have in our rural area and one of the things I do miss from my years of bicycling and commuting in more urban areas. I'll always be a country girl at heart, but having bike paths and places to stop and shop made city life bearable for me. I miss it, sometimes. Thanks for the post.

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You're so welcome! I do enjoy this kind of a setting, but it's not the most ideal for real fitness, since there is more stop/start, slow riding, and of course those stops off for yummy things to eat! But, this is a vacation for us, only a week (minus one day since I have to get back for an orthodontist appointment), so it's not an everyday thing. We'll be back to our longer rides in Winter Garden soon enough!

The path does sound similar to yours, Rebecca (nice pic, btw), and here too, there are ways to bypass the busiest stretches in a couple places; we've discovered one already. We were able to detour off the path and ride through uncrowded neighborhood roads most of the way to a Publix 3 miles away, which was great.

Today has been super busy here as lots of long weekenders have arrived, or just people playing hooky from work for a day, since it's so beautiful out. We haven't ridden yet but are going to take a short ride (an hour or so) in a few minutes -- I'm waiting for DH to get ready. We did do an 8.5 mile beach walk this morning, with a couple of detours off the beach for a healthy lunch AND a donut, so we have gotten some exercise in, but we're missing the bikes too much to stay off them altogether, so a short ride just to enjoy the breeze and the sunshine is in order before wine-thirty and then dinner! :D

Here's our campsite: Attachment 18334

I sure will miss this spot!

We went out to ride with our friends, into Historic Deerfield, about 12 miles from their house in Western MA. Clear and sunny and it got up to 57. But, a vicious headwind, for the first half of the ride, I could barely get my speed above 11 at a few points. It was about 20 mph, wih sustained gusts. That, plus my hamstrings screaming from yesterday’s boot camp, was demoralizing. Went through a few places I haven’t seen and we did have tailwind for about 8 miles near the end. A 22 mile ride turned into 27.5. It was tough.
Afterwards, we went to the spring wine release event at the winery down the street from our friends house. It’s 8.15 and I am ready for bed.

The wine event sounds fun, Crankin!

We ended up riding today after all. We did a loooong beach walk this morning, and DH's achilles started bothering him from stretching too far in the sand, so we walked back on the path along the road. We noticed it was not as busy as we'd have thought for a Saturday, because most people were on the beach, even though it was a mostly cloudy day. So, we headed out around 3:30 pm and rode for an hour. Very nice. We found a spur trail that went 2 miles north and was free of cyclists and walkers, and only one road crossing, so we enjoyed that little bit very much, and even the main trail wasn't super busy. Between that and riding to the beach to walk a bit after dinner, ended up with 15 miles on the day. Not much, but combined with all the walking, still a fairly good fitness day.

We leave tomorrow morning and drive back to the Orlando area. I am sad. :( This beach is so beautiful! I will miss it. This really does feel like going home after a wonderful vacation, something that was always a letdown for us. Even RVing, some spots are like "home" and some like "vacation".