Rides: Dec. 6th-12th

Today, I learned a few things:
1. My bike is a jealous creature. I normally don't have a problem with tightish turns. I fell over. (I'm fine, bike's fine. I'm just a little embarrassed and have a road-topography bruise on my knee.)
2. Riding in the afternoon in an urban area that's decided to hold a "We don't suck!" holiday event in multiple locations is a terrible idea.
3. I need to rethink my winter clothing somewhat. Warm, but not quite warm enough. I think just a long sleeve jersey should do it. (Primal, where is my order?)
4. My new jacket is awesome.
5. I need a new battery for my computer.
6. I am actually capable of repairing minor bike things. BF took a look at my bike when I got back and was surprised. :D
7. Sometimes, a mile and a half is enough.

(I can't wait to get back home to a non-urban area!)
Hopefully yours went better than mine.

I had planned a 25 mile solo hill ride for today on my road bike, but the snow yesterday ended up being more than expected, so I took Ethel (my cross bike) out on the road. The shoulders were snow covered and though the roads had been salted they were still slushy and crusty in some parts. I stayed close to home and did two laps over a hilly route. Only 13.7 miles total, but that counts for 20 road bike miles ;) and I managed to climb 1300 feet in that short ride.

This is my first try at riding through the winter, and this was my most wintry day yet. I think I've got the clothes figured out except I needed warmer gloves on today. Last year, my last ride for the year was on November 2, and this year I had almost 600 miles in November, so that's progress. I'm finding I don't mind the cold, but I did mind the messy road surface today. Anyway, it was better than sitting in the house on the trainer!

My route was pretty rural, but the drivers that did come along were really ignorant today. Maybe they thought I shouldn't be out on the road.

Ritamarie, this is my first year of trying to ride through the winter, so whatever you've learned, please share, starting with clothes! Thank you!!

Owlie, sometimes a mile-and-a-half is, indeed, enough! Too bad about the fall; I'm glad it wasn't serious.

No ride for me today; I've been having a social day instead, meeting people for breakfast and then for an afternoon Messiah singalong.

Yesterday's snow had me in on the rollers today. 30 miles. Ugh!

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Originally Posted by MDHillSlug

Yesterday's snow had me in on the rollers today. 30 miles. Ugh!

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30 miles on rollers??? How can you stand that? Do you watch t.v.? What???

My fondest roller memory was when I was home from college, and down in the basement at my parents house on the rollers. My dad walked by the basement door up on the first floor, saw the basement light was on, and hit the switch. :D

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Originally Posted by Ritamarie

30 miles on rollers??? How can you stand that? Do you watch t.v.? What???

My fondest roller memory was when I was home from college, and down in the basement at my parents house on the rollers. My dad walked by the basement door up on the first floor, saw the basement light was on, and hit the switch. :D

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It was tough; took a few rest breaks. I was very glad when I was done.

Yes, I watch TV or DVDs. Today it was episodes 8 & 9 of Dexter.

It was cool but not cold out in the desert today - mid-50's and sunny for our midday ride. My husband and I rode up to Saguaro National Park and back, with a detour at the end to visit an LBS he's never been to, and I had just been to once. It was really pleasant.

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Originally Posted by azfiddle

It was cool but not cold out in the desert today - mid-50's and sunny for our midday ride. My husband and I rode up to Saguaro National Park and back, with a detour at the end to visit an LBS he's never been to, and I had just been to once. It was really pleasant.

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That sounds great. Mind if I pack up the bike and come hang out with you?

Or I could go hang out with BF's parents, but that would be awkward. (They're in Mesa.) I spoke to his mom earlier today. She was saying that she went out on a ride and thought it was cold (it was in the 60s). I laughed--I went out and it was barely 35 and the sun was setting!

Medianox and I did a freezing cold ride in Knights Ferry... hitched a ride for a few miles one direction but had a great ride back after breakfast! It was supposed to be just under 24 miles but we ended up with a little over 15 ... great company! I was the Ninja, Medianox had the red jacket :p

6 miles on the rollers today, which for me is a record. And considering that I'm coming off an 8 day/72 hour workweek, it was nice to do anything at all. Tomorrow maybe a run.

Ooooh! I was SO excited about yesterday's (Sunday) ride! My first 'event' :) Have only been riding 3 or so months - a total newbie. It wasn't a serious one - just a navigational event riding around my hometown of Canberra in teams of two (I rode with the BF) - but went for four hours and covered plenty of kilometres for me! It was so much fun - one control point was on a little island in the middle of a lake, and a team member from each team had to swim across to it. Glad it wasn't me, although I think some people secretly enjoyed getting to strip down to bare essentials and get wet :p

Which brings me to this point: In the midst of the Australian summer, I look at these photos and comments of you guys riding in the depths of winter and think, Oh my goodness you're brave! I just hope I can muster up as much enthusiasm (and warm clothing) when it starts getting cold here! And its not half as cold as over there I'm sure....

18.5 miles in the northern Delaware hills. I know it's winter when I put SPDs on my road bike to accommodate treaded winter boots rather than slippery road shoes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of my favorite rural roads had been salted. Others had not, and I dodged a fair amount of ice (and stupid motorists!).

I really needed to get out and clear my head, and I'm grateful for yesterday's ride, however short it was. Work's been awful lately, and I've been wimping out on commuting, so I've been in a funk for a couple of weeks now.

On a related note, has anyone ever found boot liners for Sidi winter boots? I like that they're not super-insulated, and I can use them in the warmish rain, but I found myself wishing for a little more warmth yesterday. I may just steal some of DHs wool socks to go over my wool socks :D

Love the pics tprevost!

Weather here has been all over the place so my riding has been sporadic. It was cold and rainy on Sat so I opted out of group ride. Last time it was this cold there were only two of us. I think I proved that I am a die hard and by not showing up this week when it is also raining, I am also proving not to be insane. LOL However I did miss my bikecrushguy and I even contemplated stopping in to the shop with the excuse of needing to return the full gloves he lent me last week. ;) yeah right. I over heard him on the phone last weekend so I am pretty sure he has an SO and might even be married but gosh darn it he makes me light headed. *sigh*

ok right back on topic... I did ride 24 miles yesterday and really only enjoyed half the ride. I really am determined to not loose all my conditioning this winter but it is proving to be a challenge all ready. *sigh*

I just did around 25 miles. I almost took a header carrying my bike down the porch stairs, when I noticed they were icy as I was in mid-step. My hesitation while I was about to put my foot down made it worse than if I had just stepped. That could have been ugly.

I saw no other riders until almost the end, when I was passed by a guy on a road bike. I thought that was done for the season! I hardly ever get passed in winter, when all the weather wimps :p are on their trainers inside. ;) Not that I'm not a weather wimp. I just like the cold more than I like my trainer.

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Originally Posted by owlice

Ritamarie, this is my first year of trying to ride through the winter, so whatever you've learned, please share, starting with clothes! Thank you!!

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Owlice,

I just posted two of my new winter favorites under Apparel: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...012#post481012

Having the right clothes definitively helps.