August Riding

Added another 1/10 mile branch on my MTB trails, today. That doesn't sound like much, but, believe me, that is full day of work and heavy work at that. Good section, though, with some hefty steeps that will give me a good workout. May be able to use it as a cross country ski section, too.

By the way, I do not cut down any large or even small trees, just an occasional seedling. Most of the trail work involves moving debris, raking, trimming over head limbs for the sake of safety, filling dangerous holes and so on. Also involves some cutting of old stumps and fallen dead trees that block the path. Have made an effort to minimize the disruption to our woods. Very little underbrush in our local woods, though, thanks to our overpopulation of deer and we also have an infestation of earthworms - an invasive species for us - that seriously deplete what few soil nutrients we have, so our woods should have more of an understory if truly healthy. The mostly bare forest floor does make it easier on me to lay out trails, but I would rather see my woods a bit more healthy.

Now at about 2.5 miles of trail on our property if you took all the pieces and strung them, end to end, but in order to actually to access and ride all the pieces, you have to ride over 6 miles with lots of doubling up on sections to access all parts. Usually takes me a full hour of riding, full out, hard, and that includes LOTS of climbing and techy turns and maneuvers. On a good day, I can average over 6 mph for average speed. If I just cruise and/or play with then objects such as logs and rocks, much longer and slower. So many ways to ride the trails, I never get bored. An almost infinite number of combinations. All beautiful, too, with me right there in the midst of it all the sounds and smell and ambience. Life is good in our north woods.

Your trails sound really nice, NWG. My husband put in trails on our 11-acre wooded property in NC which also didn't have a lot of undergrowth (lots of deer there too), but I think even if I rode every segment/loop, it couldn't have been more than a mile and a half total for each loop. Our trails were easy by MTB standards, but there was one little hill that was scary descending and a difficult climb up unless you were in the granny gear ahead of time. I didn't ride these trails much since I was almost much more of a roadie, but they were fun at times!

A couple of similar rides here the past two days on the bike path and roads. Hot and humid with heat index in the low 100s! Today traffic was worse on the roads, heralding the start of the holiday weekend, but the trail was not bad since the kiddos still had school. 27 miles yesterday and 29 today.

Ordered a couple of items from Amazon yesterday: A Polar water bottle that I can squeeze to drink from rather than have to use my teeth to open, which is impossible with braces and tender teeth! Also new Conti Gatorskin tires for both me and DH. He decided that riding the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires we bought for riding out west (goatheads!), where we didn't make it this summer due to my accident, was silly here in Florida. The Contis will save us about 1 lb. of rotating weight for each wheel (when coupled with lighter tubes, as we're also running super heavy bulletproof tubes) and allow us to save the Schwalbes for the next time we actually need them without wearing them out ahead of time. It will be nice to be a bit speedier once we get the new tires installed. I've gotten so used to the Schwalbes that I don't even notice that they are slower. DH just put them on his Trek recently and said he could really tell a difference in his average speed and acceleration. His Contis were well-worn, so it was time for new tires anyway.

That makes sense, Emily. I envy the hot weather -- we are stuck in a cool pattern and it looks like it will continue. After reading the September outlook on a reliable local weather blog, I am now officially worried that we'll have another cold winter like we did 2-3 years ago. Twenty degrees below normal is one thing in August or September, but in January the colder temps are too much for the heat pump in my condo. It's bad enough not be able to go outside without dressing in so many layers that you can't put your arms down and you look like a tick about to pop, but when you can't be warm in the house either it's just too much.

I rode 17 miles last night, my new not-so-hilly hill route. It still needs some tweaks to eliminate a couple of difficult intersections where I have to stop on uphills to cross or turn at busy roads. Even though most of the roads around here do quiet down in the evenings, the main ones still have a fair amount of cars on them. But it's a good alternative to my usual route, and last night I was able to do it by memory without needing a cue sheet. Temps were in the 70s but it was somewhat humid which kept me from needing a vest or jacket near the end.

Am now trying to figure out my plans for the weekend. I will ride on Sunday, but don't know yet where or for how long. Monday is our club's century and I'll be driving SAG for that.

Speedplay Xs were replaced by the "Light Action."
I am in Philly, where it looks dreadful for riding. I am in one of the inner suburbs; pretty, but narrow roads, no shoulders, curbs, and hills. And, I think I have found drivers worse than the ones at home. Aggressive, go through red lights, and generally do not look.
I probably walked 5 miles today, so I am good. Tonight is an early birthday party for my DIL before they move. Tomorrow we are pretty free, and then Sunday is my granddaughter's birthday. We will be heading home late Sunday afternoon and plan to ride Monday.

A birthday already for your grandaughter. Time is flying. Happy birthday to both ladies.

Philadelphia is worth visiting. I went to college there. I've only ridden there with the Livestrong Challenge and after the first year they movedit farther out of town.

There's a new museum about the Revolutionary War there that opened recently. I want to visit as do my parents, though we're still working out the logistics since they don't drive long distances anymore. Might be worth looking into. And of course there's the Art Museum and Franklin Institute.

So I was at Target tonight and could not find my credit card when I got to the checkout. Earlier today I couldn't find some cash that I got back as change when I bought lunch yesterday. Went through my purse, the pockets of the jeans I wore yesterday... and then found both in the handlebar bag of my bike. I guess they fell out of my wallet during last night's ride?? Weird.

That is weird, NY.
I imagine there is good riding just west of here. I've been to some of the historical stuff here, as my husband is from here, and we used to visit his cousins. I actually lived here for 3 months, right after I graduated college. A bad part of my life!
It is cool and about to be rainy all day here. It was 54 when we walked to breakfast and saw that it was 39 at home...