4th of July Rides!

What? No 4th of July rides thread yet?!?!? :p

Just got in from a 29 mile ride...perfect riding weather here today. Only about 70 degrees with a little breeze. I got to preview our teeny tiny local 4th of July parade when I rode through the staging area. Looks like about 15 entires...mostly just people riding in the backs of pick-up trucks. It's the epitome of a small town parade and I love that they still hold it every year.

There were lots of loose dogs out today...not sure what was up with that. Luckily they were all friendly. And they gave me the opportunity to get off my bike and rest on two long steep hills.

I hope everyone is out having a great 4th of July!

Had a great 18 mile ride with DH this morning.
I posted this on the wool weenies thread, but I think it's amusing enough to post here as well:

DH and I were riding along on our bikes this morning on a country road, and we see an elderly couple of pedestrians up ahead walking along the road. I say "Let's not give these people heart attacks"- meaning I am going to call out "Good Morning!" to them well ahead of when we pass them so as not to startle them.

Then Dh says "With a rear end like that you don't NEED a bell."
:eek::eek:

I say "Hey, what is THAT supposed to mean!?"
He then explained that my rear hub makes a pretty loud clicking noise when I'm coasting, and gives people in front of me advance warning that I'm coming up behind them without needing a bell, and that's what he was referring to.

So today's joke around the house is me saying "With a rear end like mine I don't NEED a bell!"

P.S. I LOVE my bike!!!!!!!!

I just got back from riding, too. 21 miles on a MUT, and boy are the pedestrians out today! But they were remarkably well-behaved. The weather here in Missouri is perfect! I had a very humbling moment as I rode my newly cleaned and lubed road bike. Came up to two "older" people on trikes. Easily passed them. Moments later, the old man dropped me like a rock... Yes, I was passed by an old, white-haired man with no teeth riding on a trike... I'm choosing to believe he passed me because he was way more aerodynamic than I was. If I'm not wrong, I've seen him on the trail before. Only usually he is smoking while he's on the trike.

Happy Fourth of July everybody!

Another rainy day here. BOO.

So I went to the gym instead. It was packed!

Happy Independence Day!

V.

got rained out so we went to the movies instead.

I started the day by taking the dog to the park to chase squirrels. (She never catches any but LOVES to chase them.) Enjoyed a nice 22 mile ride with DH afterwards. Rode a route that typically would have too much much traffic - but not on the 4th of July. We stumbled across a neighborhood parade a few miles into the ride. Lots of kids on bicycles, golf carts, fire trucks, etc. Definitely the highlight of the ride. Got home about 1 minute ahead of a down pour.

Happy 4th Everyone.

I started out early. after about 19 mile i realize I had skipped breakfast :o, I had some luna moons with me so I ate them. I ride down to the start of the club ride. it was a "show n go". I was debating going with the fast folk to Bonellei park or going with the slow folks to breakfast, I decided to be social and have breakfast. I rode back with them to the coffee shop before heading out on my again.
62 miles
The weather 's not bad . it's just now gotten to 99.

I went with my neighbors on my first MTB ride of the season, to a trail I hadn't ridden on before. It was way harder than I remember from last season. Hard to believe I rode 60 miles on my road bike for 5 days in a row a couple of weeks ago. 5 miles in the woods was enough.

Slept in, took a nice leisurely mtb ride with the BF. So far so good :]

It was supposed to rain...but it didn't. I did a century at about 17.1mph and 4,200 feet of climbing.

Temp was mid 70's overcast most of the time...but boy, once a 10+mph wind picked up from the west, it got tough!

we did the south Lake Washington Loop. 30 miles. of course threw in some extra hills, otherwise, how would we get home?
perfect weather for riding today.

Bah!!! It's been raining in a tropical like manner here for like 2 weeks. I was sick last week, so I didn't care, but I planned to ride everyday this weekend. So far, I got in 31 miles on Wednesday and 16 yesterday, but this morning it was just misty and drizzly and not really warm either, so we took a short power walk before going off to July 4th festivities.
Of course now, at 8:15 PM it's dry and the sun is poking out on its way down.
I hope tomorrow I can ride in the morning as we have another party in the late PM. Sunday we go to Fitchburg to see the crit.

40 miles with a stop at Trap Pond State Park for a snack, then another stop at the Blueberry Farm and we all got blueberry ice cream. It was 90o and hot. I ended up with a blotchy heat rash on tops of my legs.

Was going to go to the pool after but figured the water would be too hot, so I took a shower in my outside shower, and stayed inside the A/C the rest of the afternoon. Was going to walk down to the boardwalk to see fireworks but radar shows severe t-stosrms about to descend upon us and wreak havoc on the crowds at the beach. Maybe they can postpone it till tomororow.

We didn't ride today - we paddled. It was lovely (even if it was a lake, instead of the ocean).

Lisa-

I have a funny DH comment too - I've been riding more, and commented last night that I *though* I might be getting stronger. His comment: yes, you don't suck as much on the back of the tandem. It was supposed to be a complement, but :rolleyes::eek::eek:

We awoke to a light rain so opted out of the N2 ride with the gang. They ended up reconvening at 9, just when we were enjoying our leisurely breakfast and an extra cup of coffee. :rolleyes:
So...we did our "anniversary ride" today (instead of tomorrow, as we planned). We rode into Rock Creek Park - met up with a guy on a beautiful custom Bilenky with S&S couplings...and it makes me think ..."Hmmm, I could do that with my old Axiom and turn it into a travel bike!" Also ran into an old friend of DH's who was cruising thru the park on a fixie. Ouch!
The positives about riding thru Rock Creek Park: Closed to traffic on weekends and holidays in sections, so it's a nice wide "path". It's usually 10 degrees cooler than the 'burbs due to the trees and creek. We usually run into someone we know, so it becomes a social event.
The negatives about riding thru Rock Creek Park: Closed to traffic means packs of joggers, in-line skaters, and families with kids running rampant make riding a challenge. Oppressive humidity due to the tree coverage and creek. We usually run into someone we know, so it becomes a social event!
And....the oppressive humidity tends to hold the fetid stench of the ever-present road kill that lines the road (or managed to run off the road into the woods before dying). Blech. :mad: So much for getting out for a bike ride for a little exercise and FRESH AIR!!!! :mad:
Stopped at the LBS...it was closed.
Got in a noodling 35 miles.

15 miles today, but I was cheated out of 30. I rode to a family thing and it went pretty well. I filled up on good food, but my return trip was thwarted when they realized I was going to ride back, too! I was basically pushed into a car and taken home. Bummer, but there's always tomorrow.

Nice lively group ride today. Seemed like it was all hills and rollers except for about 5 miles. Somehow, I "worked" less on this ride - I suspect its because I was in a group. Normally on these longer rides lately, I've been solo.

54 miles 16.6mph avg 25Kcal/mile

vs my Wednesday ride
39 miles, 15.6mph avg 28Kcal/mile

Interesting stats, yes?
more miles, faster pace = less work than fewer miles, slower pace

Remind your fast pace-line loving friends of these things.... Today's ride had more hills and longer hills than my Wed ride (and not just b/c of the extra miles).

Another set of figures for your consideration... my last Saturday solo ride:
65 miles 14.6mph avg 27Kcal/mile (good mixture of hills and rollers, flats)


Hey - I'm an accountant...can't blame me for likin' da number games! :D