June 4 Weekend Rides

52 miles today. Rode with DH (who did extra miles to get 70). Suburban to urban to rural hills with a nice stop at the ice cream store on the way home. It was humid and hot, started out overcast but soon turned sunny, so I was totally drenched when I got done, but I actually felt fairly good. I think I ate enough this time but may not have had quite enough to drink as I'd lost 1.5 lbs immediately after returning home AND having a large glass of OJ. I continued drinking fluids all afternoon.

My longest ride since my accident in 2005. :D

Finally got some decent weather to do some climbing! I went to El Dorado Hills to climb another nice steep one I discovered last month while looking for Boulder Ridge Road. This one is Marble Ridge Road. It has a maximum gradient of 16%, with a pretty consistent 15% section after the switchback on the first part of the climb.

I had my video camera recording as always, and got another dog encounter on camera. This one was more positive than the last one I posted here, where the dog escaped the yard and chased me near the top of another climb. This time the dog was waiting for me near the top of a switchback. He barked a little, then proceeded to trot alongside me until I reached the top of the climb. Since the dog wasn't being threatening, I figured it was safe to make my usual puppy sound. I slowed down at the top so the dog would be on camera again.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90479831

Here's the video. You can see the dog starting at 4:52.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAelTvtOHYw

View from the top:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/...17513221f1.jpg
view from top of Marble Ridge Road by kittyz202, on Flickr

I set out this afternoon after cleaning my bike a bit. I noticed that my head was sweating before I was done oiling the chain (the back of my head sweats like 16 horses after running the Preakness, and it's not as if I even have all that much hair!)... hmmm... warmed up, didn't it?

Well yes. Yes it did. I rode some of my usual trails and got in 25 miles; should have stopped for water a little sooner than I did, not because I felt dehydrated, but because I was so hot, I sucked it down and swallowed some air with it. Which made my chest hurt. Which gave me the fleeting thought: Gee, this would not be a good place to have a heart attack. (My older brother having prodigious talent in the belching arts, he got it all; I am seriously deficient in that area. Having a bubble of swallowed air hurts!)

But I digress. It was sunny and warm; I saw a Great Blue Heron in the swamp, a turkey vulture hanging out on a mud flat in the Anacostia River, a lot of mallards, and a good number of red-winged blackbirds. Also bunnies and a turtle. No deer, however, which surprised me a little.

I was not fast -- 11.5 MPH. There were a lot of people out. I chastised only one person, handed out many many compliments to children who followed directions/paid attention very well (thereby avoiding injury, woo-hoo!), and managed to avoid running into any of the clueless parents. A good day!

I rode 27 miles today along the Springwater Corridor. I rode to a transit station, too light rail to downtown Portland, then rode to my destination. On the way home, did the same thing in reverse. It was overcast and in the 70's with a nice breeze. I saw a deer jump a chain link fence, walk across the bike path and stepped through another (different type) of fence! I've included a self portrait.

Well apparently my self portrait didn't upload. I'll try again. Glad to see so many people having had nice rides this weekend.

I did 11 miles mountain biking Friday, took dogs to the vet Saturday, massive house cleaning Saturday afternoon and evening and recovery Sunday. Not much mileage but I am pooped!

I took DD mountain biking again! I love taking her. She gets so perky and upbeat on our way to the trail and she's so proud of herself afterward. She had 2 big crashes. The first one she fell off her bike, rolled down and embankment into a swamp :( The second one, she was being so brave, she decided to tackle a decent size downhill but lost control and endoed at the bottom doing a face-plant over her bars and then bounced into the woods :eek::eek::eek: Not something a mother wants to see. After a good cry and some reassurance, she was fine and managed to finish the ride with some renewed enthusiasm. Looks like this will be a weekly thing for us!!!!

I love this.
The first time I attempted a stream crossing, a 4 year boy, on a teeny tiny Trek mountain bike beat me to it. He crashed and got right up, which gave me the push to get to the other side!

So happy to see everyone getting out there and enjoying a ride on their bikes! We finally got some decent weather here in the PNW and I took advantage of it. I got two great rides in and the best one was yesterday's ride. I rode in the annual Peninsula Metric which starts and ends in Gig Harbor, WA. The scenery is gorgeous . . . the sound, the mountains (both ranges . . . the cascades with Rainer on the east side and the Olympic range on the west side). Weather like I said perfect! Gave me a taste of another great summer on the horizon!

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-20-15_218.jpg
Picture of the Olympic Mountain range to the west.

Saturday I was hoping to get in a nice, long ride, maybe 50 miles or so. But after running 10 miles in the very early morning, my legs were grumpy pedaling the 2 miles to the farmer's market. (Strawberries are ripe, yippee!). So I changed my plans, and rode our new bike path instead. 20 miles, and the heat index was over 90F, so it felt like more. But fun!

BTW, the fred thread was making me think, this was a fredilicious ride... On my '92 Cannondale road bike, with down-tube shifters and toe clips and "dork disk". And I was not wearing my bike gear, but lightweight cargo shorts and tank top from the Wal-Mart boy's department. And yeah, I was passing riders on quality modern bikes, wearing the full kit.

Finally a nice weekend here to get out on the bike, although a bit too hot for me (close to 90). I did some hill work Saturday and finally, finally got in a longer ride Sunday - 54 miles. A friend joined me for the first 25. We headed West of the metro, past Lake Minnetonka, out to the rolling countryside and horse farms, to a gorgeous county park where we snacked and bid adieu, then I did more rolling countryside, ag farms, horse farms..., back to the park for another loop, over towards Medicine Lake and home. I can't complain about the heat too much since the dew point was at least low, unlike today - Excessive Heat Warning anyone? :eek: It was a gorgeous ride. Oh, we also had to slow down at one point for a big male wild turkey crossing the road, and then there was the squirrel who tried to kill both of us.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by owlice

I set out this afternoon after cleaning my bike a bit. I noticed that my head was sweating before I was done oiling the chain (the back of my head sweats like 16 horses after running the Preakness, and it's not as if I even have all that much hair!).

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LOL...too funny. My head is the same. The back of my short hair gets absolutely drenched and drips everywhere. I've ridden with gals who take off their helmets, shake out their dry hair without any apparent sweat, and go. Truly an unfair genetic advantage they have. :confused:

Must have been a good weekend for everyone, what great ride stories and photos.

I got to do over 52 miles on the Centennial Trail on what was a nearly perfect day for cycling...the kind of day we dreamt about all winter long. Not too warm, clear... we could see each mountain range from different points along the trail... Mt. Baker, Rainier, Pilchuck and Three Fingers, and the Olympic Mountains. It was fabulous. :D

No flats, the only bad thing was a big fat slug being thrown up on my leg by the front wheel... major ick. Oh, I also dropped my waterbottle trying to put it back in the cage while riding...a skill I really need to practice more. :o I ran over it with my back wheel, luckily didn't crash or ruin my water bottle!

I'm cheating - but my weekend started early. These are some of the stops I made on my 23 mile ride in northern Michigan on Thursday.

What a great weekend of riding it was. A nice little 20 mile ride on Saturday, 50mi organized ride called Bike Boat Bike on Sunday and another 20 mile ride after working from home on Monday I ended up with 90+ miles in the 3 days. The nice weather continues this week although some will complain about the heat, I will be welcoming it with open arms.

For those who are not familiar with Bike Boat Bike, it is a ride that begins on the North Fork of Long Island fairly close to the wineries. We ride to Greenport where we take a ferrie to Shelter Island, ride around there then on the 50mi route take the ferry back to Greenport and loop the other side of the North Fork. The longer miles take the riders to the South Fork. We do not find that as scenic and nice as the North Fork. A very enjoyable ride on a nice day.