July rides

nwg, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Enjoy! I hope your maiden voyage goes smoothly. Very happy for you! :D

Thanks for the clarification on the trails you were talking about, Crankin. We only occasionally ride those kind of trails; they are mostly for hiking, and yes, walking dogs, in my mind. As you know, we mostly ride "official", marked trails, rails-to-trails, city-maintained trails, national forest trails, and the like. Not many loose dogs on those, thankfully. Behind our 11-acre property in NC we used to own, there was an established hiking trail that had been there for many years, unmarked and across the back of many privately owned properties but known by all who lived in this wooded area. We used to walk our dogs there -- but on leash. We did occasionally run into other folks with their dogs off-leash on it, and one of our neighbors' dogs ran into our yard from it and attacked our first Boston Terrier, who defended our property. Needless to say, our vet bills were paid, and that only happened once -- we made sure of it!

Congrats NWG!!!
Wow, that is a story, Emily. I know some think I am a dog hater, but it's actually the owners I dislike! I don't have a dog because I don't want the responsibility, maybe because I take that seriously. We had a cat for 14 years and I knew that was my limit.
So, good thing I looked at the AMC bike committee calendar last night. There is no Friday ride today. The agreement I have with Jack is that if I show up, I get leader credit for sweeping. That's fine, because I didn't realize it's going to be 90 and humid. I am getting ready to go out now, probably on the shady streets, and then back on the bike trail as far as I can get.

Emily, I give you lots of credit for riding in Florida in the summer!
DH is working from home and then meeting someone for lunch, so I waited an hour and rode with him. So, it had to be a short ride, and once we got out, we made it even shorter. It's 85 and a dew point of 70, not sure of the actual humidity, but I was so sweaty from a 12 mile ride, I had to lie down on the floor when I got home, and let the AC cool me. This is a ride I usually do before work, a good mixture of flats and rollers, with one or two decent hills. It was my fastest average ever, on this route, which didn't help!
Glad I went, because this is the kind of day I might stay inside. Actually going over to the office, to see 2 clients after lunch and later out with friends for tapas. We head out to Amherst later tomorrow. The ride on Sunday is over 2,000 ft of climbing. It will be hot, but not humid, which I can manage much better. Looking forward to riding in a new place.

Yeah, I'm baaaccckk. :)

First ride in six weeks, this morning, and wanted it to be with my hubby. I wanted it to be a together kind of ride. For a bike, I decided on my new Pugsley, since it was a bike that we bought, brand new, but it didn't come home till the day after my accident. In other words, six weeks of looking at a new bike without riding it, not even once. That's pure torture for someone like me.

The Pugsley did exactly what I expected it to do. The new, re-designed Pugs has a longer wheelbase for even better stability, so I expected it to be a steady, predictable ride and it was. Fast, uh no, but about as safe a ride as I could pick for a first ride after my accident. DH and I managed only 5 miles of laps around the neighborhood, but then I did another three full laps on my trails for another 2 plus miles of trail work, making double extra sure to play it safe on the trails. My fears about trail riding didn't completely evaporate - I still balked, here and there, and walked some tough spots - but nice to know I can ride the trails without freaking out. Of the two types of riding, I felt much better about the road riding, though.

Whew! Overall, I was pleased. I was in better shape than I thought I was, but nowhere near where I was before the accident. I've got some catching up to do, but almost cried for joy for being able to ride, again.

Wasn't really planning on making it a double ride day, but this afternoon, I looked at the Gunnar single speed and just couldn't help myself. Hubby and I did another couple of laps for another 5 miles on the neighborhood roads. Honestly, riding the Gunnar was EASIER than climbing hills with the Pugsley. Honestly, the Gunnar rolls so easy that I think a tailwind could push me without any pedaling on my part. Looks like my single speed addiction continues, despite my accident. Again, I have a ways to go to get back in shape, but the fact that I could ride the Gunnar, again, after a six week layoff was like the icing on a very sweet cake of day riding. I am one very, very happy girl.

nwg, that is great! I can't believe you rode trails on your first ride out after your accident, but at least you showed yourself you can do it, so you won't be too scared to try. Back on the horse! Very happy for you!

Crankin, our dewpoint here has been running around 74-77, so I understand completely what you felt after your short ride. Multiply that by three, and you can see one of the reasons we decided to cut back to only three times a week. For me, it's a 35-ish mile ride, and 40 for DH, who doesn't mind the heat nearly as much as I do. Within the first 30 minutes, I am drenched, and that continues on. At the speed I ride, and with my two stops, it's about a three-hour effort. However (and it's a big however!), we do have a super nice pool to cool off in here in the RV park afterwards. Because of all the afternoon rainstorms here during rainy season, today the pool was actually chilly when we got in! I never expected it to be anything but bathwater this time of year. It was bathwater about a month ago, but since the near-daily rains began, it has been perfect. Really helps revive us after the incredibly muggy rides we do.

Enjoy your riding in Amherst. I can't even imagine how lovely a low-humidity ride would feel right now!

Thanks, Emily. The ride is in what are called "The Hill towns," so that may give an idea of the terrain.
I remember that bathwater thing well. After 23 yers in FL and AZ, I cannot go in a pool or the ocean/pond without the water being at least 75 degrees. Preferably 80. That means I almost never go in any water!
NWG, that is great. I also cannot believe you went into the woods. Although, I understand why you went. It's called desensitization. But, I hope you stay on the road...

I had to try the trails, Crankin, to see how I would respond and I was afraid that if I put it off, I might lose my nerve and never try. There's also the practical side of me that hated to see three years of work building them go to waste, at least as fr as the biking. Although I managed the trails, well enough, I was still a bit shaky and nervous and, like I mentioned, I walked the bike over some spots that wouldn't have even slowed me down, before. I was especially panicky around boulders. No surprise, there. I'm still not sure about the trail riding at this point. Going to have to try some more before I make any decisions.

As for the road riding, though, including the little bit of gravel road I tried, it was pure exhilaration. That's where my heart is at this point, but, of course, it's still a bit early to make any final decisions.

Will ride, again, today. Our weather, fortunately, has been great. Have had the furnace come on the last two mornings and highs have only been in the 70s.

I'm working my way back, slowly (a lot of slowly :)), but sure. Managed 15 miles, yesterday and another 11, this morning. No afternoon ride, though, with heavy thunderstorms in progress as I write this, but probably just as well. I do push things. (Duh!) Anyway, first three days back and over 40 miles of riding. Most of those were road, but maybe a quarter trail. I am feeling better about the trail riding as far as being able to do it and not freak out, but that old daredevil, give it hell attitude just isn't there. Might never be, again.

Have been doing a lot of switching on the various bikes to get reacquainted with them all and all have done well out on the road, some better than others, of course. All are roadworthy, though, and that's what counts, since that may be where I do most of my riding from now on. Yes, for those of you who aren't familiar with fat bikes and plus bikes, they can be quite roadworthy with the right tires. That, and it's always nice to bail to and ride the shoulders, safely, if need be, not to mention exploring those gnarly dirt side roads or even a cowpath whenever the mood strikes.

Our ride today was unbelievably beautiful and very challenging. Not 17% grades challenging, but steady climbs, with portions up to 10%, 2 long downhills, and a road with 3 steep, short climbs past an alpaca farm at the end. This part of the Pioneer Valley is within 5-10 miles of a major area, including 5 colleges, but this was so rural, it felt like northern Vermont. Most of the way, we passed waterfalls and rivers along the road, as well as farms.
I was not the slowest and when we finished, almost all of us had lunch at a brewpub, next to the start, where I admit, I ate onion rings. Of course, I got all stiff on our 1.5 hour drive home and I am pretty exhausted. But it was cooler, no humidity, almost felt cold at points. One day reprieve, then back to the triple H.

Sounds like a lovely ride, Crankin!

nwg, I can't believe you have ridden that much already. You are a beast. :D

I might not be doing too much riding for awhile as while I was at my orthodontist appt. today and DH was riding, part of one of his Speedplay cleats (Zeros, I believe) sheered right off his left shoe and caused him to go down hard on the road. He was standing to accelerate through an intersection when it happened, and thank the gods, there weren't any cars coming from either of the four directions! :eek: He got really lucky with that.

It was definitely a freak occurrence and of course shook him up a lot. Once he determined that nothing was broken, he gingerly got back on the bike (which is fine other than a wonky break hood that can be easily pushed back into place. He had numerous areas of abrasions/strawberries up his left side: shoulder, elbow (the deepest and nastiest one), hip, and side of knee. Fortunately, it seems like just bruising and soft tissue damage, but he is certainly uncomfortable!

By the time I got home, having no idea of any of this (he didn't want to call and worry me), he had managed to clean all the wounds and put antibiotic ointment and bandages on all but the shoulder, which I took care of. I then walked up to CVS and bought more bandages of all different shapes, sizes, and properties. We already had gauze, tape, and a variety of smaller bandages, but he needed more of the larger ones.

I feel so bad for him! He is an excellent bike handler and rarely has any crashes, especially considering the 1000s of miles he rides each year. But this was a purely mechanical failure. He is going to be sorer tomorrow than he is now, and showering and sleeping will be interesting. I told him I'd sleep on the sofa so he doesn't have to worry about having to turn over slowly and carefully multiple times (or maybe moaning while doing so!)

Since he will be out of commission for awhile, I don't feel comfortable riding very far by myself, since we don't have a car. If anything were to happen to me, mechanical or otherwise, that I couldn't take care of myself, he wouldn't be able to ride out or drive out to rescue me. We have "friends" here in the park, but I don't have anyone's phone number and wouldn't feel comfortable imposing on them anyway, especially if they needed to haul my bike back.

It's funny, just a couple of weeks ago when I was feeling down (about to catch a virus), I thought about giving up on cycling for the rest of the summer due to the heat and humidity. Once I got to feeling better, I didn't really want that, but was looking forward to our new regime of three longer rides a week instead of four. Now it looks like I got my "wish", like it or not. I'm sure he'll be back on the horse eventually, but it depends on his healing time. In the meantime, I guess I'll be walking more, swimming more, and going to the gym more. Not that that's a bad thing, but when you can't do something, you miss it! Right, nwg?!

It is truly always something! :( :( :(

Sorry about your DH, Emily! The very same thing happened to my son going through the intersection of the major highway that divides my town. Like your DH, he was lucky that the cars stopped. However, this was when we lived about 8 miles from here; he sprained his ankle in addition to the road rash, could barely walk out of the intersection with his bike and he didn't have a cell phone (I think he was in 10th grade, back in the olden days). A doctor from the local hospital stopped and drove him home. I was mad he took a ride from a "stranger!" Tell your DH to rest. His bike will be there when he feels better. You can see this as an opportunity to do other forms of exercise for a bit.
I had a kind of weird injury at the gym today. I was still very sore from my ride. Only 3 people were in class today, so she worked us hard, with some different stuff. She always participates and she was my partner in throwing a 10 lb. medicine ball to me, I threw it back and then did a burpee for 10 burpees. In the middle of the second of 3 rounds, I caught the ball, but just barely, and it kind of hit me in the chest. Ouch. I didn't lose my breath or anything, but it hurts like hell now. I only have a small bruise, but my ribs on one side hurt and I imagine they are bruised. It hurts when I breathe at times, so I am hoping it will go away in a couple of days. I think my hands were sweaty and catching that ball was not easy for me at that weight.
Oh well. Tomorrow I rest anyway and Wednesday looks rainy. Hoping I can at least go to a spin class.

Emily, I am so sorry to hear about his accident. Of all the things to cause an accident! Bad enough when we make a mistake, but an equipment failure like that is just not something we can predict. I am so happy to hear that it wasn't worse, though. Not that those road burns aren't bad -they really are nasty - but at least nothing was broken. Give him our best.

I finally got the last of my bikes dusted off, tuned, and given a ride after collecting dust for six weeks while I recovered. 15 miles, today, and four were trail miles. I am getting my karma back for trail riding, but it's heavily tempered with safety in mind. My neck is still a bit weak, so I've been very careful to stand when I go over rough patches as to not have my head bounce around. Chalk one up for the fat bikes in that regard. Those big tires really help to smooth out the ride compared to regular mountain bikes. Yesterday, my DH moved obstacles off the trail for me, such as logs and boulders, that I had placed there to ride over. Also removed some nasty roots. Keeping both wheels firmly planted on the ground from now on. Don't want anything do with the stunt stuff.

Thanks, gals. He is actually doing much better today! He actually got some sleep last night, and we changed his bandages this morning. Two of the wounds are a bit worse than the other two, but both looked better than yesterday. I think they'll heal up just fine. He's sore, of course, but he has a very hard time just sitting around (ever), so he actually walked with me across the road to Publix just now. We walked slower than usual, and he did fine! I carried the heavy bag, and gave him the light one to carry back. I had already done a longer walk to the bank and tortilleria, so I got some good exercise, and tomorrow I'll go to the gym.

Crankin, so sorry about the injury. That sounds painful! I am not sure I can imagine catching a 10 lb. ball. I only work with 5- and 8-lb dumbbells at the gym as it is!

nwg, very glad your DH removed the stunt stuff from your trails. Sounds like you are doing everything right. Really glad you are back on your bikes and know you are verrry happy.

Thanks, Emily. It's a little better today, not as painful. There's just a small red abrasion, and below it a reddish bruise, which is a bit swollen, but it's small. I had to choose carefully when picking out a shirt to wear today, as it's fairly high up, and I didn't want any comments! Occasionally the ribs on either side feel sore, but it has really decreased.
The weighted ball is smaller in circumference, so it's a bit of a shock when you catch it, and it's heavy. I was trying to be careful, as my instructor is 9 months pregnant... due in 3 weeks and barely modifying anything. She wins the prize, even I was not doing burpees in my 9th month, though, close. We don't usually use it, as there's only one, and we took it out of the main gym, into the room for classes, since there were only 3 of us.
I usually use 10 lb weights for my "heavy" weights and 5 lbs for light. Sometimes, I need to go down to the 8 lb weights for shoulder presses, as we usually do one minute of each thing, for several rounds. I still want to build my upper body, as I feel weaker than I should be. But, I guess I need to put it in perspective. My neighbor could barely lift her bike onto her bike rack and it was painful to watch her attempt it.
The rain is going to hold off until noon, so I think I can get out tomorrow. We are making dinner reservations for our trip to Canada starting next Wednesday. Can't believe it's finally here.

Hope you heal, quick Crankin. I only have the faintest tinge of back and blue in one small spot, now, after my accident. Seems like bruises take forever to clear up, though.

All single speed work for me, yesterday and this morning. Did 11 miles, yesterday morning, on the Gunnar, to start. That took a lot out of me. It was right at my limit of what I can handle on a single speed, right now, but I loved it. I really, really enjoy single speeding, all the more when it's single speeding with such a wonderful bike.

Did some errands and stopped by the bike store to pick up my other single speed, my Log Lady. Had heavy lugged trail tires on it, originally, but that really made for hard pedaling. Had the guys go tubeless for me with some much smoother 27.5x2.5" XC tires. How smoothly and easily tires roll makes a huge difference with a single speed. The Log Lady is much more pleasant to pedal now. Did a combo ride of pavement and trail for a total of 4 miles, last night, making it 15 miles on the day, all single speed.

Hit the pavement, again, first thing this morning on the Log Lady to beat an approaching front of heavy thunderstorms. Got 6 miles of laps done around the neighborhood before the rain hit, so over 20 miles of single speeding in 24 hours. I am very pleased, given that single speeding is more of a workout and it took me a few weeks to get into single speed shape, even before my accident when I was in good MTB shape.

Our neighborhood is actually ideal for single speed riding. One lap is 2.5 miles and it is all gently rolling hills, so just enough of a challenge to make the ride interesting, but not so steep as to make it grueling. Then, too, almost nothing for traffic, plus we know all our neighbors along the route, so that's fun, too.

Yes, I did ride the Log Lady with those skinny tires on some parts of my trails. I originally got the bike for trail riding and geared it for that kind of riding. I only ride it on the more level, straight, wide and all dirt sections, though. I won't ride it on sections with climbs steep enough to make me stand on the pedals or on the techy sections. Pretty much like riding a dirt trail through your local park, in other words, so I feel safe riding it on these sections. Being lower geared than the Gunnar also makes the Log Lady a nice option for pavement riding when I'm a feeling a bit lazy. :)

Heading to Brainerd, Mn, tomorrow for a family reunion over the weekend. Will be taking the Gunnar and hubby will be taking his trusty fat bike. The trails in the area are almost all paved (a lot of trails in Minnesota are, compared to our area), so the Gunnar should do just fine.

There are no words to describe how wonderful it feels for me to be riding like this, again. A piece of me that was missing for six weeks is now back in place.