Sunday 9/27 rides

Am I the first? Yesterday I went for a 6 mile hike on the trail I usually bike (hiking was way easier) with a new friend who is a bike officer for another department, I am trying to get him on the bike off duty (his argument..."I ride 12 hours on duty, why would I ride off?"). So I was dying to get on the bike today to enjoy the weather.
I rode with a strong man and my usual biking partner, who is a bit weaker than I am (but he is a guy). We went pelting out at a crazy pace, and rode the first half at an average of 18 mph (in the city, with stop lights and stop signs, that is fast for me). I rode in his draft so I wasn't working as hard, but we were still hammering along. I was happy to see that he was sweating and working hard, I was having to pedal hard just to keep in his draft, and going down hill I was left (I always have trouble down a hill, I pedal till I run out of gear, but I am way lighter and just don't coast as fast) and had to catch up on the climb or flat.
My usual partner was dropped early, I felt badly about dropping him, but he was happy enough keeping us in sight.
So, 30 miles of hammering, I am way more tired than I am after 50 miles at my own pace!!

I don't get out that much, outside of errands, but went this morning while my son was sleeping. Beautiful fall morning, rode to downtown Portland, very pleasant.

This was also the first longer ride with my new drop bars on the MTB. Much, much better, no wrist or shoulder discomfort like I use to get with the flat bars.

Guess I'm a roadie bar at heart. Love being on the hoods and have access to my brakes. I had bar ends on the flat bars, but it as too wide and had no brake access without having to move my hands back to the grips.

Here's the "new" MTB:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...s/IMG_1663.jpg

Oh, and since my original posting, I've added fenders, a rack and the Reelights no-battery blinkies. It's a fun SUV bike.:)

Rode the annual Fall Century, 1/2 Century ride in the rolling hills north of New Orleans. OK, north of Lake Pontchartrain. Happy? ;)

Anyway was a cool misty morning to start, but the sun broke through to start warming things up. I think the ride organizers weren't thinking too much when they put 27 miles between Rest stop 1, and when you loop back to that same rest stop on the return trip. As I was enjoying the rolling hills, and thinking about my low water supply, I passed the dairy where my milk comes from - they sell at our Farmer's Market. I starting thinking about their chocolate milk. I almost rode up and knocked on the door. Will have to tell them that next time I'm at the market.

The stats - 51.2 miles, average speed 15 mph. Top speed was 42 zipping down a hill. Don't ask what my speed was going up the same hill on the return trip. Some number less than 10. But I did not get off and push.

Wildlife - I saw a beaver dam! First one I've seen in Louisiana. This part of the state has proper streams that flow downhill, running clear. Something that would make a beaver happy. Not like the squishy marshy coast where the bayous ebb and flow both directions, or not.

Great 100mi ride today. This was a very well organized ride with lot's of very nice riders participating. I did the ride with a friend, but we joined some great groups of riders along the way and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. OK, some spots were rough. My friend almost bonked, but thanks to our "emergency rations" in our jersey pockets, we took care of that quick and he rebounded really fast. There were some kinda tough hills along the way. At miles 85-90 the "rolling" hills were starting to get to me. But then near the top of one I pass this one girl who is saying "ow, ow ow" with each pedal stroke. I had to chuckle. She was fine, by the way, just enjoying the hills even less than me. This made me feel better somehow and I finished reasonably strong. Average pace on the road was 16.6mph. Could have been better, could have been worse. Overall, a good, but tiring, ride.

did about 24 miles today; we were volunteering at Seattle Center for Festa Italiana. After that we rode up to the very top of Queen Anne Hill to look at a dresser for Dh's mother. and then home again. DH is in "building his hill legs" mode again so we didnt' take the easy way home... argh.

38 kms. with stop at a farmers' market, then sporting goods store where I bought another pair of cycling shoes....as a backup. After a 2-yr. long search for my last suitable pair of cycling shoes (I use toe clips, yes, relic me), I wasn't going to be left desperate again, nearly shoeless on bike.

Am picky because tend to avoid the chunkier styled mountain bike shoes.

Did about 50 miles on the western portion of the WOD rail trail, with a slight detour on Dry Mill Rd. in Leesburg because it's a sweet downhill stretch. Saw a very big turtle ambling along on Dry Mill.

I started riding shortly after a shower passed through the area, and I'm glad I missed the rain but could have done without the headwind that followed it. And there were so many gnats! After the ride I passed lots of people while walking through Reston Town Center without realizing the I had at least 15 dead gnats stuck all over my face. Amazingly, no one pointed and laughed.

What a ride I had: shifting problems the whole time, launched my Garmin once (found it), lost my keys, got a flat. Still better than riding the trainer in the basement ;)

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Originally Posted by ny biker

Did about 50 miles on the western portion of the WOD rail trail, with a slight detour on Dry Mill Rd. in Leesburg because it's a sweet downhill stretch. Saw a very big turtle ambling along on Dry Mill.

I started riding shortly after a shower passed through the area, and I'm glad I missed the rain but could have done without the headwind that followed it. And there were so many gnats! After the ride I passed lots of people while walking through Reston Town Center without realizing the I had at least 15 dead gnats stuck all over my face. Amazingly, no one pointed and laughed.

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haha ... i know exactly what you mean about the gnats on the W&OD. I've been swallowing way too many this past week. One just about choked me Friday night as I was riding to Leesburg then back to Reston.
That headwind today was pretty strong. I rode, again to Leesburg but knew that the ride home would be SWEET, and it was. I rode into Reston Town Center and stopped in at my favorite place for a well deserved treat, Yogen Fruz. Let's meet and ride north sometime.

I rode the Columbus Fall Challenge, and finished. :)

I got wet (but not nearly as wet as things apparently got around my house - there must be four inches of water in the compost buckets I left to air out).

I got gritty. I put my bike in the bathtub.

I only got sort of a little bit lost. I put on two new tires on Friday and didn't get any flats, unlike just about everyone else. My friend had three on Saturday alone.

I got goat blessings from a pair of goats as I was climbing a hill. I discovered on a false flat in the middle of a 15% wall that my rear brake was rubbing.

I finished. Not (quite) last.

I'm way too tired to post anything else about it. But I earned my T-shirt and bragging rights. :)

Did 14 miles today. Felt normal but seemed to be 'off' in that it was more effort than it should have been and took me longer than it should have. (Tires were well inflated, no brake rubbing, etc.) Probably just an 'off' day. Got chilled because I didn't take my coat and didn't think I'd ever get warm again. Scheduled to do the 45 mile route of the Harvest century on the 10th so need to get a little more riding in.

A pleasant foggy afternoon from Marina Del Ray to Redondo Beach.

Very easy and medium paced 25 miles with a friendly group of cyclists.

Followed by a potluck at a guy's house where he had participated at RAGBRAI in July, showed us video, and made us all jealous!

We had SUNSHINE!!!! A whole day of sun!!! I was beginning to wonder if i'd ever see the sun when i rode :rolleyes: Great day for the trails & because of the long weekend it was like an Elmer Fudd moment. Really really quiet on the trails :D

This was the first weekend of many training rides for the 12hr(end of nov) & am playing around with different foods on each one. Sandwich w a smidgen bit of jam-check.

No riding on Sunday; it was raining steadily throughout most of the day, so I took it as a sign to do other stuff. I studied my Spanish program (in preparation for our cycling trip to Spain in May), got my nails done, and cooked in preparation for the "break the fast" dinner tonight after Yom Kippur. A day without exercise is very unusual for me.
I did have really nice rides on Friday and Saturday, though. Nothing special, but 2 days in a row where no parts of my body hurt!

I was supposed to lead a 30-mile ride today...I got up, walked the dog, and it was overcast but not raining. I got all geared up (it was quite warm and humid) and put the bike in the car and no five minutes later the skies opened up.

So I got the paper and went home. The ride was to be fair weather only, as I do not ride in the rain because I have to wear glasses and cannot see very well in the rain.

Oh well. I'm looking forward to the Equinox-to-Equinox Commuting Challenge, though (starting for me this week).

Finally a two days of riding.
Went to the "Florida hills" in San Antonio (Florida). I am 2 weeks from my Moab trip.
40 miles each day. Not very fast. But can get 'er done!
Day #2 (Sunday), at mile 35 one of my riding buddies got her first flat. I was behind her, we were going slow and I hard the back tire w/ the intermittant "psst" as the air leaked. I pulled around her so I could stop further up. I The other riding buddy was calling out "stopping". THOUGHT she knew she had a flat. Then I heard this CRASH! And some moaing/wailing sound!
So what happened was: it was this gals first flat and she had only been ona road bike about a month (previously a hybrid). Well, she really didn't realize what was happening and as 2nd riding buddy was just to her rigth (and getting ready tostop)...gal w/ flat when down ...right in front of 2nd riding buddy--who then fell on top. Both were fine. Gal w/ flat is a bit more bruised. And shaken up. So I had to ride (like the wind--had) to get the car. So 5 miles (of hills) and the rain storm approaching. I went as fast as I could (ok, not as fast as I wanted). I barely knew the route--luckily a stratigh shot. Threw bike in back of car and jumped in car JUST as it started to rain. So now I am driving (in teh rain) unfamilar roads--hilly and curvey (more nervous than biking). They did get the flat fixed and started to pedall some...and it was downpouring. So I picked them up (they looked like drowned rats). By the time we got the bikes secured....it stopped raining.

So 80 mile weekend w/hills...my best biking weekend in a long time--except for the little mishap!
Oh and I didn't get lost finding the car or retracing my path in the car!

What do you folks average on hilly routes...had some rollers, some very step and some longer climbs.

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Originally Posted by katluvr

What do you folks average on hilly routes...had some rollers, some very step and some longer climbs.

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Ha ha...

This weekend I was very proud to finish at all. This ride is a big regional feather in one's cap. It's rated at TDD 10. (From what I've seen of the Mt. Dora/Clermont area, I'd guess it'd be rated around 3-4, but you'd have to ask your local cycling clubs.) Barometric altimeters weren't working because of the rain, but I've been told CFC is 9,000 feet the first day and 8,000 the second.

I wasn't DFL, but then again I had no mechanicals and no flats - the sag support alone went through over 70 tubes, so I must've been one of the only people who never had to stop except for food, pee, and once to tell the sag about another bike with a broken chain. So maybe I was actually the slowest rider out there. :p

I did Saturday's 114 miles at a moving average of 13.3 and Sunday's 101 at a moving average of 12.5 mph. But I finished - and unlike a lot of people, didn't drop out because of the weather. Which I totally didn't understand, since they'd been forecasting a 90-100% chance of rain on Saturday, since at least Thursday - if they didn't want to ride in it, why start at all (and get their bikes all gritty)? :confused:


On our usual club rides, we do anywhere from 40 to 80 on Tuesdays and 35-ish on Thursday evenings at a TDD of probably 7-8, and there we'll average 15-16.

What is TDD?
And yes, I am slow! But it was a fun and pretty ride (very rural!)

I did the 65 mile course of the Headwater Century. I began my ride at 7:00 AM with a morning temperature of 39 degrees! The sky was crystal clear (probably why it was so cold). Shortly after starting, the sun began to peek over the horizon. Morning mist laid low in the surrounding farmland fields. My toes and feet were numb the first 1 1/2 hours of the ride. I had condensation on my bike, helmet and legs! Around 9:00 AM the sun was beginning to work it's warming magic and my toes began to thaw! The ride was wonderful! A gorgeous beautiful autumn day (once the sun warmed things up). It was a very HILLY ride and one of my favorite areas in which to ride. I had a great day on my bike! And now here I am, sitting at my desk at work wishing I were on my bike!

I did the 55 mile Tour for Woodside ride. Holy cow was that one tough!! I did it last year and while it was a bit tough, it was doable, but this year the weather was HOT - in the upper 90's by 10AM and it seemed to get hottest half way up the mountain. Of course, they changed the rest stop at the top of the mountain - moved it about 1.5 miles down the road that goes along the summit - in the opposite direction. Fortunately, there was a lot of downhill there! I finished, but was toast when I got done.

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Originally Posted by katluvr

What is TDD?

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Terrain Degree of Difficulty, on a 1-10 scale.

Although to be completely honest, I think whoever does the rating for COP could use a little fine-tuning.

Last weekend's single-century ride was rated a 10 as well, and I thought this Saturday was much harder. Some of it could've been the weather though (both the chilled muscles and having to take it slow on wet descents) - and maybe they take the back-to-back days into account also, as the big stage races take into account fatigue when they categorize climbs.

And IMVHO, I think if it's a 1-10 scale, then 10 should be reserved for "the most difficult ride you can imagine," and I can definitely imagine more difficult.



ETA: In my defense :p, this was my first time doing CFC, so it was super important to me to finish. I didn't try to stay with anyone, but instead made sure there'd be no question I'd saved enough - and definitely I had enough to pick up the pace a bit in the last five or six miles, once it was pretty clear that I would finish. As I said to someone at the last food stop, all summer it's been "I've got to ride harder, I'm training for CFC!," but this weekend all I had to do was finish. :)

For comparison, in the Florida flats, three of us working together would typically average right around 20 when you exclude the stop-sign laden warm-up and cool-down sections, and I know I'm way stronger now than I was when I left there in the spring.

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Originally Posted by katluvr

What do you folks average on hilly routes...had some rollers, some very step and some longer climbs.

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I have a few hilly routes here with lots of rollers, some gradual grades (which don't bother me at all but kill some of our riders) and some steep, hard climbs (if it is very steep I am toast, I don't have a great climbing gear on my cassette), it depends, for me, on the distance and who I am riding with. 35 or less, I know I will have enough in me to hammer it out at 18-20 mph average if I have someone to pull some, especially in to the wind. If it is longer or I am having to work the whole way, I keep it at 15-16 mph. My back tends to get very bad at 40-45 miles if I have been hammering.