November Rides

Glad you were able to finish the ride without eating, Crankin! I always carry a small snack (peanut butter bar or something) even on my usual 33-36 mile rides here, since I only drink water (because of wearing braces). I am able to rinse my mouth out after eating with the water. I like to eat my snack about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way into the ride so I don't get too hungry at the end. I know your rides there are harder because of the hills, so all the more reason to eat at some point along the way.

We've had a chilly north to northeast wind lately, and it really does slow me down heading into it, but the benefit is a nice tail wind most of the way back, as we're heading south and west. Been riding M-Tu-Th-Fr. On Wed. and Sun. I've started working out at the gym here in the RV park, which really is pretty decent for an RV park. I take my mat for yoga/abs and use their weights for upper body. Saturday we do a long walk to the farmer's market and leave the bike path to the kiddos!

Yes, good ride, Crankin. It's those rides that push us a bit that teach us the most. Of course, we don't want to take that thinking too far and end up bonking. (Ask me how I know.)

Emily, have to say that gypsy lifestyle sounds cool. Not sure its me, though. The older I get, the more of a homebody I've become.

Been thinking of boots for my winter biking. Since I use flat pedals for all my biking, no need for bike specific shoes. My light thinsulate hiking boots work fine until things get really cold. Then I use cheapo rubber pack boots with liners, but those are a bit on the floppy aide for hard pedaling. May take a look at some of those very high end (and very expensive) winter bicycle boots, even though I don't need the SPD feature.

The bar mitts have pretty much solved the cold hands part of the problem for me. Can use them with standard winter gloves down to zero and below.

Oh, I always have a bar in my bag. I had a really good breakfast for before a ride and was thinking how full I still felt, in a good way. I have found I get a sudden shock of hunger, like instantly, instead of building up. I noticed it about a mile or two before I stopped to do the arrow. I had plenty of time to eat then, and I didn't! My fault. I was drinking a bottle with Nuun mixed in, so just electrolytes, no sugar or protein. It was not a hard ride.
I was good and did not go to spin this morning (it was raining). I need the rest.
Northwoods, I have winter cycling shoes, though for road. They are infinitely better than regular shoes or hiking boots, but not for what you do. A long time ago, my husband had some really super insulated mountain biking winter boots. I forget which brand they were, but they are out there. He always commented how warm they were.
Two guys had bar mitts on their bikes yesterday, but said they were overkill for the 42 degree temperatures. They were just too lazy to take them off.

I did look at some 45NRth winter biking boots, today, but nearly had a coronary when I saw the price. $300 plus for a pair of boots? I might consider such I price if I was still going clipless on the pedals, but I'm not. I now run flats on all the bikes, so the ability to add cleats is not a feature I need. Can't see paying for a feature I'll never use. Also, the boots weighed a ton. I'd be worn out just pedaling with them on a trail without snow. Just nuts. Felt like Frankenstein in them. Couldn't see paying for the boots just because they were bike specific.

Ended up getting a very similar non-bike specific boot designed for hiking in the snow with the same temp rating, insulation, same sole design, but much lighter in weight and much more comfy, all for less than half the price. Tried them, this afternoon and they worked well with the flat pedals. Problem solved.

Trails were very icy, today. Temps never got above freezing, so all the slush we had the last couple of days is now pure ice and, worse yet, a lot of it is rutted and uneven. The Dillinger studded tires made it a non-issue, though I had to drop the pressure just a bit. Only need those studded tires, now and then, but when I need them, they save the day. Of course, most people wouldn't be crazy enough to ride icy trails, but I am a little nutty, after all.

PS. We saw a herd of does trotting though the yard, this morning, all watching their back trail. From experience watching deer, I knew it could only mean one thing. Sure enough, a few minutes, later, a young buck was following them, nose to the ground. That time of year.

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Originally Posted by north woods gal

PS. We saw a herd of does trotting though the yard, this morning, all watching their back trail. From experience watching deer, I knew it could only mean one thing. Sure enough, a few minutes, later, a young buck was following them, nose to the ground. That time of year.

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Cool! I miss having a wooded acreage with deer. Actually, we do still own a small piece of property abutting my folks' mountain vacation home, and there are deer, but we don't get there often. Was just up there in late October and saw a few deer -- we leave field corn out for them when we're there.

Today's ride was lovely! It was a little warmer (two layers up top to start, took off one at my rest stop) and less windy. We're due a couple more cold fronts over the next week, so this may be the last time I get to wear short sleeves on a ride for awhile (though not all winter; after all, this is Florida!)

I went over 3000 miles on the year today! Very thrilled with that considering how much time I missed after my accident.

Congrats, Emily. Now get out and go celebrate!

Did 8 miles of laps on our trails, today. Still some ice in places, some slick areas of frozen ground and, of course, some snowy patches. The safe bet would have been a fat bike, but I was in the mood for something easier rolling, so took a chance and rode the Krampus, instead. The 29x3 Krampus is setup with Surly Knard tires which are anything but aggressive snow or dirt tires. Figured I'd be pushing it and I was right. Good test, though, of what the plus format could do and good practice for me on how to safely ride under challenging conditions. Had one section, couple hundred yards long, that was frozen hard slush. Pretty dicey with the skinny tires, but I managed. Some rear tire fishtailing and rear tire swinging out on tight turns, too, so had to really concentrate on keeping it all in the vertical. Overall, though, very pleased. No crashes. Says a lot for the plus format. I now have a better idea what it can do in a pinch. Such a sweet ride, too. Love the Krampus.

More sleet/snow, tonight, so back to the fatties, tomorrow.

Today we are having an early Thanksgiving dinner with my son and family who lives here, so we got out for a short ride around 11. It was about 38, partly cloudy, with no wind. It's going to rain overnight and be quite windy tomorrow, so despite it being close to 60 as predicted, I think I will go to spin early AM.
We did 16 miles over to the other side of town, avoiding shoppers and tourists as much as we could. I've got the right combo of clothing down for the temperature it was today, which I think would be good down to 30. I did use my heated gloves for the first time this year; I have regular ones that would be OK for this temp., but they feel tight and it's hard to shift. I think they may be smalls, as I bought them before I realized I actually have very long fingers and hence, need a medium sized woman's glove. I also did not use a balaclava as DH did, and it was smart. I'd rather have a cold face for a bit, because once I heat up, that cool feeling is key to keeping me from sweating to death.
It's going to be warmer on Tuesday AM, so I may go out for an early AM ride then, too, before we head to FT Benning to have Thanksgiving with my other son.

Just commuting and my normal urban riding since the tour de pink, which was physically and emotionally a very satisfying three days of riding. We visited friends in Palm Springs this past weekend and rode to Joshua Tree N.P., riding into the southern entrance and riding to the northern entrance where are friends met us to drive back. Felt good to get a long ride in again after three weeks of being content with spending weekends doing other things, plus JT is one of my favorite places to ride!! Perfect day of weather, riding and being together.


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Absolutely gorgeous pics, Rebecca! SO clear.

I'm glad to hear that the Tour de Pink was such a positive experience for you!

OMG, Wow! (as usual) on the pics, rebecca. Just seeing them makes me feel warmer and I can sure use some of that, today. 30 mph north winds and highs only in the low 20s.

No snow on the trails, today, but what we did have, earlier, melted then froze into long sections of very slick ice. Trails are about 40% dirt and 60% ice, now. Even the fat bikes with standard snow tires were slipping out on the steep climbs and some fishtailing on the turns. Spooky stuff. Had to head back to the house and get one of the fats setup with studded tires. That did the trick, bit still had to be very careful. Little odd to need studded tires when no snow on either side of the trails, but when I need them, I need them. In the good old pre-fat bike days, I'd have been out of business.

:) @ Sheila….

Thanks Emily, now the tdp is one of my top favorite ‘needed to do’s’! ...and with more to be ridden! The way you’ve integrated bicycling into your lifestyle always makes me smile and the 3000 miles is another reason I just :)'ed

…..thinking no training plan means a shift to casual urban riding combined with more work/travel time for me for awhile…..well, this is a good time of year for riding in the desert so at least another one.

you’re making me want to sit in a comfy chair with a book and a fire nwg.

Took a spill, yesterday, on the trail, thanks to a patch of weird ice on a turn. Rear tire on the fat bike flew out from under me, so landed on my back and got a sore left shoulder blade area for my troubles. My head skidded a bit on the frozen ground, but the helmet took that out of the injury equation. All in all, pretty minor spill as spills go and I do expect it, now and then, for my kind of riding. Goes with the territory.

Could have been avoided, though. Our snow cover is mostly gone, even on our trails, so rather than grab one of the fat bikes with studded tires and have to give up speed and handling that goes with those rigs, decided, instead, to go with a faster Norco fat bike with ordinary snow/dirt tires, no studs. The problem is that the thawing/freezing cycles we've been having is creating glare ice out out of the wet mud sections. Yep, just when I thought I'd seen it all, we now have not only black ice, but now we have black ice mud to deal with. Yup, looks just like ordinary frozen mud, but it is slick as snot from all the riding I've done on it.

The good news is that I went back to the house and exchanged that Norco with another Norco fat bike with studded tires and kept on riding. That took care of the problem and could turn and climb even on the black ice mud sections. Honestly, my trails, right now, are not safe to ride without studs. Crazy to think I would need studded tires to ride on what appears to be just an ordinary section of frozen dirt trails, but there you go. Who knew?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

You, too, Northwoods. No riding for me today. I am in Columbus, GA, visiting my son. We did take a 2-3 mile walk and took our granddaughter to the park.

So glad the tdp was a good experience for you, Rebecca.

I've been in NY since early Saturday morning. I did get a ride in after work last Wednesday night. I was overdressed again. The two previous nights I was cold when I left work, and I dressed for that only to find it was warmer and more humid than expected. Nonetheless it was a good ride. The new shoes and pedals seem okay, for short rides at least.

I drove up to NY after work on Friday (after working until 10 pm). My siblings from the west coast are here, celebrating my mother's birthday in addition to the holiday. We saw a show on Broadway (Beautiful, the Carole King musical), have gone out to dinner several times, and are having a big birthday dinner on Saturday. Lots of food, zero exercise. In all I will be here for 10 days, covering two weekends.

I'm hoping for good riding weather when I get back, for short rides at least.

Nice thaw, yesterday, with temps up into the 50s. Whoo hoo! Of course, the trails turned a little muddy.

Before
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On sponge bath, 5 minutes, later
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Back to below freezing for a high, today, so should be able to keep things a bit cleaner.