May 10th ride

Today we led our club's "New Member" ride. It's not really just for new members. Last year, 60 people came on this ride. We divide it into 2 groups and we lead the faster group (which is not really fast--15 average or so).
Well, we had a storm yesterday, which was predicted to go into the early morning. It never rained as hard as they predicted and there was absolutely no rain when we got up at 6. The ride started at 10 and only 7 people showed up! But, it was good I had 2 other people to lead the slower group, because they definitely were newbies, injured, etc.
It ended up being a nice day and it was nice to ride in a group of 5 people that all rode around the same speed. We did just under 23 miles through Concord and Carlisle, with an average of exactly 15.01. The slower group averaged 11.7. There were so many cyclists out in Concord today, it was crazy. It was also hazardous waste recycling day, so there were cars lining up for that, too, near our start point. At one point a group that had passed us at one point got in behind me when we were almost back and flying down the flats. Since I was sweeping, I couldn't go any faster, but they stayed behind me until we turned.

Well, some of you remember that last week my DH was rather disappointed because i didn't want to do a long ride with him.

So this morning he got up and said "I am doing the south loop of Lake Washington, and then I am going downtown to the bike shop." He didn't even ask me if i wanted to go.
We'd checked the weather and we were told by the weather experts that the rain would be coming in later in the day. So I got up and got ready to ride. He was delighted that I was interested, but hey, he picked all my favorite places to ride. We had breakfast and got out the door. And it started to rain. I stood in that doorway and sighed. Years ago, he used to say "If it's raining at the beginning of a ride, I tend to cancel" well, I feel the same way. Who wants to ride ALL DAY in the rain... another big sigh. Went out to the street where he was waiting for me with that puppydog look he gets; "let's go, let's go" I said "it's raining" he said, "yeah, I know; but remember, you don't have to ride.." another big sigh... and we set off. by mile 6 the rain had completely stopped. We rode 40 miles in and out of our favorite urban places and he bought a rack for my bike at Elliott bay bikes.

Today, we set out with friends. Dan, a 59 yr old stud on a bike, Ken & Maureen on a tandem, Silver and me.

Along the way, in a way out of the way intersection near the Ohio River, we met Brent who is traveling cross country from Lincoln Nebraska to Washington DC (and beyond) before starting at Stoneybrook University in NYC in a few weeks.

The pics are grainy since they were my cell phone.

Here he is with his 80 pound bike:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...63/051008f.jpg

We went to the beautiful suspension bridge that crosses the Ohio River in Rockport Indiana. Here is Brent and Silver after we passed to the Kentucky side:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...63/051008d.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...63/051008b.jpg

Here is me after we returned to the Indiana side. This bridge is beautiful!
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...63/051008a.jpg

While the beauty of the bridge draws the eyes up, you have to be careful of the treacherous, bike eating expansion grates!:eek::eek: We walked across them!:o:o
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...63/051008c.jpg

In total, 82.6 miles at 15.5mph. Wind from the east at about 10mph was a pain going out, but wonderful on the return.

Here's Brent's Blog!

62 miles
I was debating going down to San Diego an doing a popularie(a 100K brevet ) today
But yesterday , I had an optometrist appointment .I was going to the oen at the loacl outlet of the "evil empire" (aka walmart), but My boss said if went to his wife's place, a get a "big discount"
Well, after getting the bill, i really blew my Budget :eek:(so much for "big discounts") so I decided to stay local
I did the club ride,a nd actaully hang with a group :)
relaxed at the coffees shop. They had been advertising a drink called the "funky Monkey", so I dedcided to try it ;)
Road out to Pomona to make it a metric
I like this picture from Mt Baldy road:
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...d/SUNP0011.jpg

25 miles today through beautiful farmland. :)

Joined the club for yet another "MadDog" century. We had been warned about this ride - lots of climbing we had been told but were also promised some beautiful scenery. The ride started in Carefree, Indiana and we quickly found ourselves climbing. However, the view at the top was awesome. I never knew the Ohio River could be so beautiful. The ride flattened out and the pace picked up as we made our way through the little towns of Alton, Magnet, Derby, Cannelton, Bristow and Sulphur. The climbing really picked up after the lunch stop and it was one hill after the next for the next fifty miles. In addition to the tough climbs we also had a headwind to fight. However, it was one of the prettiest rides I've been on and I'm hoping they will offer this ride again in the fall when the leaves change.

In the end I logged 97 miles and completed the ride in 6 hours and 11 minutes. It was a great day to be on my bike!

I did hill repeats. New to me, and quite a fun little workout in a short amount of time.

Redrhodie... did you say hill repeats are a "fun little workout"?:eek: Did mine earlier in the week, and that isn't the word I used!

Today's ride was the club's annual "Spring Classic"... I showed up early for parking help -- directed traffic for 3 hours in the COLD and WIND, and then finally got to ride. 2.5 hrs, 37 miles in the BIG WIND! Made for a heck of a workout! Excellent ride, well supported (if I do say so!).

I did an easy 24miles, but since I injured my quad about 7 weeks ago, my rides have been few and far between. This ride was great for a number of reasons. One, I was actually able to get out there. Two, for the perfect temp in the low 70s and no wind. Three, for the wonderful smell of honeysuckle as I rode along the back roads of Alabama (remember that lyric "and I can taste that honeysuckle and it's still so sweet, when it grows wild on the banks down at old camp creek, and it calls to me like a warm wind blowin' "). And four, that I got off the bike with no pain, no limp, and wanting to ride again tomorrow. All in all, a wonderful ride. :D

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Today we led our club's "New Member" ride. It's not really just for new members. Last year, 60 people came on this ride. We divide it into 2 groups and we lead the faster group (which is not really fast--15 average or so).
Well, we had a storm yesterday, which was predicted to go into the early morning. It never rained as hard as they predicted and there was absolutely no rain when we got up at 6. The ride started at 10 and only 7 people showed up! But, it was good I had 2 other people to lead the slower group, because they definitely were newbies, injured, etc.
It ended up being a nice day and it was nice to ride in a group of 5 people that all rode around the same speed. We did just under 23 miles through Concord and Carlisle, with an average of exactly 15.01. The slower group averaged 11.7. There were so many cyclists out in Concord today, it was crazy. It was also hazardous waste recycling day, so there were cars lining up for that, too, near our start point. At one point a group that had passed us at one point got in behind me when we were almost back and flying down the flats. Since I was sweeping, I couldn't go any faster, but they stayed behind me until we turned.

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I had thought about going on that ride, but ended up making other plans because the weather forecast looked so iffy and there was something else going on today (that wasn't weather dependent). There were probably plenty of other people who had the same thought process and that would explain the low turnout. 60 people last year?! Wow.

Went to the garden party... actually to the Cruisin the Canejo Ride.

Well 2 out of 3 fun ride ain't that bad. Managed to finish the basic Cinderella ride with a flu/cold whatevar. Finished the Wildflower ride in San Luis Obispo ride also with flu/cold... Yes I did cut my distance down for both, 64mile for cindy and only 50 easy mile for the wildflower. Canejo ride I signed up was for metric century 64 miler with hills my fav.

so it's this 2 out of 3 ain't bad part. I ended up chucking biscuit at around 5 and half mile mark into the ride. This flu/cold is still hanging on tenaciously and I just wasn't feeling up for it. So I dumped the ride (DNF'ed it). I didn't want to end up all wired up to machines in a hospital like last time. So I turned around and returned to the car. total 11 miles :D better than nothing I guess. Really too bad about the ride though.

After resting in a car, I did try out the Giant TCR AW. Very nice... Very nimble. (Cannondale and Giant had a booths set up and were demo'ing bikes)I tried the small frame. at 5'-3" it felt bit small on top tube length then again, the seat was pushed all the way forward and the stem was really short. so it could have been another 10cm or so longer had it been adjusted for me. One other thing, the handle bar was up way too high for my taste. I would have liked it if was mounted much lower. Even with my complaints, I really like the bike. I also hopped on their Trinity A0 bike my size but they weren't demo'ing those :( besides I already have Specialized Transition-pro which I really like.

maybe I'll hop on a trainer and see if I can burn this cold/flu out of my system tonight...

smilingcat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jesvetmed

Redrhodie... did you say hill repeats are a "fun little workout"?:eek: Did mine earlier in the week, and that isn't the word I used!

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I have a secret weapon…an 11-34 cassette. And, it's ultegra 10 speed compatible (the website it says you'll need a mtb deraileur--not true) http://store.interlocracing.com/10elcas.html:D.

Climbing is soooo much more fun now.

I headed out this morning in a bit of gloom. After all week on the commuter beast, the carbon road baby is like a feather. I cranked out some hills topping out at a 20 % grade. The sun came out too.

Earlier that morning I had found it a good idea to dump my breakfast all over myself, the couch and the floor, so I had to stop for a snack. 2 guys came riding up, stopped and we had a nice chat. They had ridden 3 state 3 mtn the week before. They said my bike was beautiful. I agree!

Cranked up, then down Microwave Hill. Stopped to try and get some pictures of the zebras that live there, but my camera phone wasn't up to the task. They were too far from the road.

Headed through town to finish out down the new road that isn't really open yet. Then headed home but detoured a little so I could get over 30 miles.

typed with kitty assistance.

I raced today. 15 mile crit...15 racers...5th place (30+ category, today, also known as Cat 1/2/3)...$30 for the donut fund. Can't beat that! :)

I got up early and went to Mother's Day breakfast with my mom, dad, hubby, kids, mother in law and father in law. Told myself I was gonna ride today.

After breakfast, went to the antique shops looking for a teacup/saucer for my daughter (she collects). Told myself I was gonna ride as soon as I got home.

Got home, noticed I needed to vacuum. Told myself I would ride as soon as my vacuuming was done.

Finished vacuuming, decided to fold laundry. Told myself I would ride as soon as laundry was folded and put away.

Finished laundry, decided to plant my tomatoes. Told myself I would ride as soon as my tomatoes were safely tucked into their pots.

Finished tomatoes, was freezing cold and sick of the wind, so went inside, wrapped up in a blanket, drank a cup of coffee and watched a movie.

No ride today....:(

I rode my first century today!!!:D:D:D The weather was perfect, slight breeze, cloudy, ~70 degrees. Road with a lady from the club and we had a great time. I logged exactly 100 miles and we averaged 15.3. I'm tired but so thrilled. I'll get a report and some pics in my century post. Oh, and I met a fellow TEer on the ride!

Lora

Well... my Saturday Ride was the first in a four race series over two weekends... the East Coast North Island Champs. The first race was a circuitt race, with laps 6km each.

Disappointingly only 1 other woman in my age-grade (Vet 1, 35-44yrs) turned up, so we started with the 2 Senior Women (20-35yrs) and the 2 Vet 2 women (45yrs +).

I was really anticipating racing with a couple of other women but for some reason they were no-shows :(

So the six of us set out, and we dropped the other woman in my age grade early in the first of three laps. I stayed with the other women and was pleased because all four are much better than me in ability. I fell off on a tight corner and rode the last lap on my own, but still came in with an average somewhere around 33kph.

Adding a 10 km warm up, and a bike into town to use the loo and I clocked up 46km.

The weather was heavy showers before the race, and steady rain in the evening, but miraculously for the 4 1/2 hours of racing - no rain at all! The air was clean and clear and smelt good.

My partner, 2 sons and me were placed 5th, 2nd, 3rd and 1st in our respective grades.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ibcycling

I rode my first century today!!!:D:D:D

Lora

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Hey hey Lora!

My dial up is so slow, it took me ages to load and then reply to this thread. And in the meantime you have been in and posted.

Thats AWESOME! Its a good milestone to complete - well done you!!!!

:D:):D

We had an *interesting* ride today. We rode from our home, to the rail-trail near us. When we got to the 2nd intersection on the trail, there was police tape up. Turns out someone had just been shot:eek::eek: Turns out it wasn't fatal, but scary nonetheless. Otherwise, I beautiful day to be out and about (with cold weather and rain predicted for tomorrow).

CA

Quote:

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

maybe I'll hop on a trainer and see if I can burn this cold/flu out of my system tonight...

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ummmm - it doesn't work that way. I used to think it did too, which is how I wound up with a sinus infection that lasted eleven weeks and didn't go away until I had to not only take a break from training, but take a week off work I was so exhausted. Take care of yourself girl.


My ride report later - if I can stay awake and rational long enough to write it -

Dh and I did the metric century ride in the Skagit Spring Classic yesterday. It was cloudy and cool, which turned out to be perfect for the amount of climbing involved (which, for me was a lot). I was worried about the section of the ride on Chukanaut drive as I remembered it as being curvy and hilly and scary (but beautiful!), but it really wasn't bad at all. Only one granny gear hill, really. On the worst hill--Bow hill road--there was a woman dressed in a devil costume, parodying, I presume, the guy that runs after the riders in the TDF. I'm sure it must have been a funny sight; me going inchy, inchy inchy up the hill at 2 mph in my very lowest gear with the devil woman running in slow-mo beside me. I bet the racer types I've seen zoom up that hill in the past got a kick out of it, though. Dh developed a flat --luckily at the top of the hill and not during the descent. We were gratified when a sag driver pulled over with a good floor pump to get the tire up the full pressure. All in all, a very enjoyable, scenic ride with excellent support and lots of good food during and after. Maybe the full century is in the cards for next year.

LaurelMore: Glad to hear you made it to the Skagit Classic and enjoyed the ride up Chuckanut (I've never been brave enough to do that section). I'm sure I directed you to your parking spot at the school... I was there 3 hours! The devil costume was gone by the time I got to get out riding and made it to Bow Hill. I forced myself to ride it... up till I got there I had decided not to do it cuz I was tired. But, I did. It is my local nemesis... it and one other closer to my house that I try to make part of my regular loop.

Thanks for coming out to the Classic! See you next year at the century ride!

I had my own little adventure this weekend.:D The bf has a raging fever on Saturday and could not ride :( So instead of packing the bike in the car to meet the bike club folks, I rode my bike to where we start to ride :) I have been wanting to do this for some time, but just don't ever do it. So I thought this would be a good time to try.

Called the bf and asked if he would be my sag if something happened, and even with his fever he said "of course":p... so off I went. It turned out to be a 15 mile ride (one way) and I ended with an 18.4 avg:eek: I guess I booked down those streets. I was a little scared as some of the streets were bare :(... and I do not like to ride on bare streets alone... but I was okay.

The hard part was when the ride was over, I was at 55 miles and I still had to ride home!!:eek:... giving me a total of 71 miles for the day:D

Now the exciting part is I don't think the bf and I will ever drive to the start... I think we will ride from home from now on :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chicago

The bf has a raging fever on Saturday and could not ride :(

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Oh no! Man cold!

Hope he's feeling better. ;) Sounds like you had a good ride!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Oh no! Man cold!

Hope he's feeling better. ;) Sounds like you had a good ride!

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OMG, that is hilarious!! Thanks for the laugh!:D