4 Jan Rides

40 miles, calm, 25 degrees and a bit humid. The last 15 miles were cold, despite good layering. Not thinking about it and seeing it as a test of my mental toughness helped a lot. I don't think we are going to get a break in terms of the weather, so I'm focused on getting out while the pavement is still free of ice/snow - despite the cold. I figure I'll lose at least several days, possibly weeks, to ice/snow between now and the end of March.

Surprised a big bummed raccoon in an underpass and later, witnessed three foxes having a turf battle or some of dispute. They were wailing like banshees!

My favouritist :p ride of the year so far.

Only 33kms but the whole way with my partner. I tucked in behind him for two 5km cruise intervals, and this morning (its nearly 8am on the 5th here in EnZed) my legs are tired.

But I love to go for a bike ride with him, and with school holidays here at the moment, it was nice to be "just the two of us".

I'm getting envious of the outdoor rides I read about on here! Day 4 in a row of the trainer for me...another hour, 16.15 miles.

Did the shop ride. They were going at a veerrrryyy leisurely pace, so my friend and I decided to try the B-ride, rather than doing the C-ride. That basically meant going left, and up Massachusetts Ave - a looong hill - where the 2 rides traditionally split. I'm not much of a hill climber, but she's slower than me. And...she's got bad knees. But we both gave in to peer pressure. Well, she paid the price for it. She got shucked off the back pretty quickly, and I waited for her. So, we basically did the rest of the ride alone. But, the climb did in her ITB, so she said she'd be spending the rest of the day icing and massaging (thank you, DivingBiker...I passed on your "Massage Stick on the Cheap" to several other achy riders today...all of whom planned to go right home and dig out the rolling pin!).
34 miles, which...in 2 days of riding this weekend...gives me nearly my total riding for the entire month of December (84 vs. 88)! :eek:

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Originally Posted by 7rider

(thank you, DivingBiker...I passed on your "Massage Stick on the Cheap" to several other achy riders today...all of whom planned to go right home and dig out the rolling pin!).

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Ha. I'm surprised people actually have rolling pins...Good for you getting out to ride. I'm hoping to commute tomorrow, my first ride of the new year.

Brisk, like 35 degrees, 30-mile tandem ride up Juanita Hill and across to the Sammamish River Trail, to Blazing Bagels, and back home. Cool enough to put the balaclavas on. It was pretty fun and boy did it feel good to be out! For the locals. there's STILL some big patches of ice on the trail just north of Kenmore--had to portage the tandem a bit.

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Originally Posted by cycling_sarah

I'm getting envious of the outdoor rides I read about on here! Day 4 in a row of the trainer for me...another hour, 16.15 miles.

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Sarah - Don't feel bad. I'll likely be inside at least a few days this coming week due to wintery and/or wet weather. Got my favorite Spinervals all ready to go. ;)

Trainer miles really do make you stronger when you go back outside.

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Originally Posted by mickchick

Sarah - Don't feel bad. I'll likely be inside at least a few days this coming week due to wintery and/or wet weather. Got my favorite Spinervals all ready to go. ;)

Trainer miles really do make you stronger when you go back outside.

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Thank you for this note! This is my first winter really using the trainer hard and I've been worried that it won't count the same way as outdoor miles! I'd be bummed to work hard on the trainer only to find I'm stuggling when I get back outside again. :rolleyes:

Good luck with your workouts!

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Originally Posted by salsabike

Brisk, like 35 degrees, 30-mile tandem ride up Juanita Hill and across to the Sammamish River Trail, to Blazing Bagels, and back home. Cool enough to put the balaclavas on. It was pretty fun and boy did it feel good to be out! For the locals. there's STILL some big patches of ice on the trail just north of Kenmore--had to portage the tandem a bit.

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wow! very impressive. No way was i riding today! too cold!

Got out on my first ride in way to long. Started out warm and muggy (I'm in Houston)... I was in shorts and a short sleaved jersey... should have brought something warmer with me...

Got a couple of cool breezes, then all of a sudden was hit by a wall of cold air and the temp dropped by about 20 degrees and we were headed right into the wind :eek: Ended up turning around at about mile 10, at least we had a tail wind back to the car! Ended up with only 20, mostly cold miles.

Oh well... it was a start!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cycling_sarah

This is my first winter really using the trainer hard and I've been worried that it won't count the same way as outdoor miles! I'd be bummed to work hard on the trainer only to find I'm stuggling when I get back outside again. :rolleyes:

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I found that the Uphill Grind was a great strength-builder last winter/spring! When I did get outside again, I was stronger, so take heart.

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

wow! very impressive. No way was i riding today! too cold!

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Yeah, but the bagels were worth it. :) And actually I have really missed being out and seeing the winter birds on the river--buffleheads, mergansers, grebes, herons, scoters. I just love seeing them.

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Originally Posted by salsabike

And actually I have really missed being out and seeing the winter birds on the river--buffleheads, mergansers, grebes, herons, scoters. I just love seeing them.

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Buffleheads????
I loooove buffleheads!! :p
Oh, nostalgic sigh....
I miss the ocean in the winter.
(DH and I plan to name our sailboat "Bufflehead"...just the name alone makes me smile.)

easing back into riding. 3rd outing and counting.

Rode only 22 miles with about 1600 feet of gain. Could have gone for another 4 miles and another 600 feet of climb but ran out of time. So much so that I had to boogey on my way home. There is like a two mile stretch where I can ride pretty fast without too many stop signs. So managed to get my speed up to 23MPH and held it there for the two miles. Didn't feel too beat after the two miles. :cool:

and my back is not complaining yippeeee!!!

hmm no luck with the peacocks today or any other wild animals on the ride. Oh well. It was clear and quite lovely day.

Smilingcat

I rode 15 miles or so in beautiful sun and, best of all, not much wind. The sunset was gorgeous, and I enjoyed eavesdropping as two tourists enjoyed the pink sky and gulls perched on what's left of a rotting pier. The Norwegian Gem was in port (the gems painted on the ship are kinda tacky close up).

I saw a potential role model -- a lady of a certain age pedaling along wearing a faux leopardskin swing coat and somewhat matching hat.

Pam

Did about 12 miles of mountain biking with Alleyoop. It was blustery outside but those trails are protected and I had a blast! I think I endoed but I am not sure. See I wrecked going over some rocks when my rear wheel got stuck. It happened fast but was low speed. Alley was far enough ahead of me that she didn't see it and it happened so quick I don't know what happened! I am banged up but no bleeding. Hit my chin but it doesn't feel bruised. My legs have some lovely purple action going but not too bad. Still was a great day and a lot of fun!

No ride, hike!
It was short but intense and my first hike in YEARS.
I'm going to do it again but give myself more time as I was running out of daylight.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...y/DSC_0181.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...y/DSC_0170.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...y/DSC_0166.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...y/DSC_0165.jpg

Would have done my usual approx. 8 mile ride to visit a friend and his cats, but instead I was making my birthday dinner quiche that everyone liked. Will burn off birthday cake tomarrow and the next few weeks. Bike is going to the shop to get a once over. Then hopefully I will be good to go.

Back to the regular bike threads....

Red Rock

Nice pics, Zen!

Why, thank you :)
Kind of cold and desolate but that's winter for you.

Whaadayagonnado?

My hubby and I did a short MTB ride on local trails. Temps were in the mid 30's and there were some flurries falling in our neighborhood. I definitely need to buy booties- my toes were frozen solid after an hour. It sure was nice to be outside and not on the trainer!

Got to try out all the winter riding gear I got for Christmas for the first time yesterday. My Triflex tights were definitely an improvement over the Under Armor I had been wearing. The wind panels kept my thighs nice and warm, but they're kind of rigid so I kept sliding off the seat. The Wombat gloves kept my hands toasty, and the balaclava kept my forehead and ears warm, which made me comfortable all over.

It was sunny and in the 40's and a beautiful day to be riding on the water. Saw lots of people out walking and two other cyclists. Didn't seem to be any "resolutioners" out there, everyone I saw looked like this was just their normal routine. A great 10.5mi ride, a bit slower than my normal speed on that route, but not bad. It just felt good to be back out there, my first outdoor ride since the end of October.:cool:

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Originally Posted by salsabike

Nice pics, Zen!

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Second to that. I like the lichen on the wood one best.

I got out for the first time in a long time. Rode to my new(ish) work to test out the commute, which lucky for me is a nice easy beach ride, eight miles and change each way. :)

Got into the office and found out, hey, we have an alarm system! I have a keyfob to get in, but I don't have a code to disable the alarm. D'oh. The alarm turned off on its own after a few minutes, so it all worked out.