August 20 & 21 rides

Nobody had started the thread, so here it goes...

Rode 42.5 miles, with the last 14 miles in pouring rain. The first part of the storm was with thunders, it was dark and windy, so I took shelter at a train station. The trains would not carry bikes this weekend because of the silly air show in downtown Chicago (never mind the trains were at less than 50% capacity). After failing to get a cab, I rode the remaining 10 miles home -- no thunders any more, but downpours on and off. Water sloshing in my shoes, I was dripping once I got home. Below is a snapshot of the sky as the storm was gathering strength.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Q...0/DSC00029.JPG

Scary! :)

I'll chime in. I did 47.7 miles in Vegas weather (in other words, hot, dry, sunny). It's been 1 1/2 years since I did 40+ miles. 3 1/2 bottles of electrolytes. Did not feel hungry, actually I felt a little full. So that was perfect. Now I'm sporting cyclist tan. Off to see Penn and Teller for my birthday. :)

Hope everyone else had a good long ride! Any achievements?

About 32 miles- sunny, warm and humid for Tucson. DH was supposed to ride, changed his mind and decided not to go, then changed it again and came with me. But he was irritable and the first 10 miles was him "expressing his opinion" on a problem that recurs between us every few months. More of a rant than a conversation... But when he is stressed or anxious, exercise helps him get rid of it- and eventually we moved on (wouldn't say there was true resolution).

We rode further than the 20 miles I was thinking about doing today- but as he put it: "a tired dog is a good dog" and he did some extra intervals while I just plugged along at an unimpressive 14 mph overall rate. He took a nap and seems to be considerably calmer and more pleasant tempered now- wagging his tail again.

Today I did only 11 miles, slogging along a rather rough paved road along the south shore of Lake Superior, running northeast of Ontonagon. Long slow uphills and gusty winds. Hard ride for me at only a 9.7mph; I am still a wimp.

Yesterday though I had a fun 25 mile ride. The spouse dropped me off at lake of the clouds in the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan. I rode from there to Ontonagon, Michigan. The first eight miles I flew down hill. The rest of the way I had a major tail wind. I had a taste of what it is like to really move on a bicycle. What fun! And pretty too.

I did the shop ride. By the end of the ride, Jay and I had dropped everyone. Our heads got so big by our amazing speed. :rolleyes: Turns out they all had flats. (who were we kidding ;)) One guy had 3! I was all cocky, and rode off before they got back to the shop, and then proceeded to flat myself 2 miles from work. Serves me right. :D

The good thing about tubulars is you can ride on a flat for a couple of miles. This was good since I was so close to work, and I didn't want to mess with putting on my spare. Now the wheel is in the shop, where they're trying to inject the tire with some sealant to repair it. Otherwise, I'll be learning to repair a sew up. Doesn't seem out of my realm... or is it?

38 miles or so.

pll...We got caught up in those storms, too! We headed out a little after 6am, and got lucky for about the first 4 hours (rode out to the Plainfield/Bolingbrook area). At around 10am, we were in Woodridge making our way back and the sky was black and ominous to the north, with just a few drops of rain here and there. By the time we hit Western Springs, it was a steady but light rain. I was pretty much soaked by this time. When we got to Brookfield, it started to really come down. I felt bad for my riding buddy, as he lives in Oak Park...but I'm in Riverside so I was nearly home. The lightning is what scared me...a few of those lightning strikes seemed like they were right on top of us. Plus it was just SO eerily dark out. Shortly after I got home, it was a steady downpour. I'm sure my riding buddy was cussing the whole way home. All things considered, I got 75 miles in.

What train station was that?

Linda

century ride, club preview for the organized ride next weekend. Average for first 60 miles was way too fast (for me!) at about 17 mph... Then split off with two other riders to finish at a more leisurely pace (avg 15). I went out intending to only do the metric, but decided to go whole hog... will pay for it tomorrow, but feeling pretty good about my first century of the year! Weather was great, high of 85, no real wind, overcast.

Linda: That was the Metra station at downtown Highland Park.

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Originally Posted by pll

Linda: That was the Metra station at downtown Highland Park.

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Ahhh, yes...the skies did look much darker up north. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and pleasant, so I'm looking forward to not getting wet. :D

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

Ahhh, yes...the skies did look much darker up north. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and pleasant, so I'm looking forward to not getting wet. :D

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Ditto.

I nearly didn't stop at the station, but one more close thunder "suggested" I should seek shelter. Within a couple of minutes, it got so dark the street lights turned themselves on, and it got very windy.

Ended up doing 14 miles at the local trail. I won't get into the details as I've already posted in the newbie area, but had a "challanging" ride that ended in some road rash and bruses. Will have to see how much stiffness I have tomorrow.

Shannon

Did about 20 miles in the later afternoon, when it was already hot and humid. I had my peer consultation group at the house from 10:30-1:30, then had to clean up. A nothing special ride; we did our Westford/Chelmsford/Carlisle route. It has a couple of hills, is mostly shady, and one of the roads is a designated scenic bike route. We went back a slightly different way, which I think made the ride a mile shorter.
Wednesday I rode 47.5 miles with the male half of our cycling friends, who is taking the month of August off. Well, I rode with keeping him in sight... I rode to their house (4 miles) and then we went up Oak Hill, up to the Fruitlands, and up Bolton Rd. in Harvard, to a rest stop in Bolton. I know I can't keep up with him, but I was trying a little harder than usual. After the rest stop, we were on flat roads for quite awhile and we were going along at 21-24, staying together. I was determined to keep up. I was so tired, I made the decision to go home a different way, that required less climbing, but added about 6 extra miles. I was shocked when I got home to see that my average was about 2 mph faster than usual for this very hilly kind of ride. I was absolutely dead for the rest of the day and took Thursday off. Friday, I rode 10 whole miles at 5:30 AM.

I got nothin'. Yesterday was a work day at the ol' homestead. We had our drivewau repaved two weeks ago. To get the work done, DH had to move some of our landscaping pavers, as well as a mound of dirt. It was time to put all of that back. In the middle of that work, something went wonky with our overhead garage door, so we had a repairman come out for that. I mostly stayed inside and cleaned. Good times.

DH is making some changes today to my mountain bike and we'd like to hit the trails later today. He's kind of spent from yesterday though, so we'll see. When you own a home that needs some TLC, riding sometimes takes a backseat. :(

I was happy to be back on my bike this weekend after being off for a week and a half with bronchitis and a sinus infection.

Friday did 27 miles, just a basic route with some miles on paved trail and some road miles with some nice hills.

Saturday rode 43 miles, the last 18 miles in rain. Great rural ride with some challenging hills, a few small towns, and a group of cycling friends. We did this same course the beginning of summer, and it was interesting to compare yesterday's ride to the ride early in the season. Definitely feeling stronger and faster.

After a nice hot shower, the sun came out, so I took the bike out in the yard and gave it a good cleaning and lubing. It needed it after the rain.

First ride of spring today! I rode just under 40 km at a decent pace considering I've been off for two months. Gorgeous day, with an impossibly blue sky, snow-capped mountains, egrets and swallows--I felt like I was in a Chinese painting.

I was also on a ride when that storm hit. Luckily I was at the lunch stop (80ish miles into the One Day Ride Across MI). Made for a very wet day, but it was still a complete blast! :D

I rode 70 miles yesterday with two friends. It was a warm (hot) day but a gorgeous day. Very scenic route. We met at Peet's coffee in Redmond around 8:30. First we enjoyed lattes and pastries before our ride. 23 miles north we stopped in the town of Snohomish for a break at the Snohomish Bakery. They have the best croissants! Yum! Next town was Monroe followed by Duvall. When we arrived in Carnation, mile 55, we stopped at a Starbucks for fuel, water, and a potty break. With 15 miles left we were off arriving back at Peet's at 2:30. We averaged 15.2 mph. My nose got sunburned other than that I had a great ride. I was a bit dehydrated too but drank a ton of liquids all last night and felt much better this morning.

As everyone knows Mimi is doing the P-12. She just completed her P-8. Well I re-started my attempt to earn my P-12 and yesterday's ride was my P-1. Only eleven more metrics to go! To earn a P-12 you have to do 12 consecutive (one per month) metics to earn the award.

Teri in front of the Snohomish Bakery.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-52-10_794.jpg

Karen in front of Tall Chief Golf Course in Fall City.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-35-07_727.jpg

The weather was gorgeous today. Lake Michigan looked turquoise, fluffy white clouds in a blue sky, perfect temperature. Did 55.6 miles by adding a loop I had not tried before. I was a bit tired towards the end, but when I arrived home, I almost felt like I should continue to ride.

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Originally Posted by Chile Pepper

First ride of spring today! I rode just under 40 km at a decent pace considering I've been off for two months. Gorgeous day, with an impossibly blue sky, snow-capped mountains, egrets and swallows--I felt like I was in a Chinese painting.

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Jen: How far away is Flaherty from Santiago? I might travel to Santiago in March, with a group of students. Visiting a winery is always fun. [And for sure I will look for a bottle or two if I'm in Santiago!]

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a century. I did 103 miles through the Catskills, up to Hunter and Windham, with an amazing 7 mile-long fast descent. The ride was well organized and a great route.

It was hot and humid again today. My bike has several things that seem to be needing replacing, too. We rode 23.5 miles around Sudbury; we almost never ride in this direction (south), so it seemed different even though it's not. I ride on these roads on group rides, but since I haven't done any group rides this year, it all seemed new.
We rode back through parts of west Concord that are lightly traveled and more rural. I hardly ever see this part of town, except on my bike. Then, we stopped for a drink in Concord center, where every bench in the alley by Main St. Cafe was taken up by cyclists, and more coming through. It's like being in Europe. It is nice that my town is a cycling destination, but sometimes listening to the conversations are funny. Anyway, the sky was getting dark, so I poured my raspberry lime rickey into my water bottle and we sprinted home.
DH just finished 1) putting a new saddle on and adjusting it, 2) figuring out why my bike is ghost shifting, and 3) tinkering with the new wheels (we had them hanging around) he put on yesterday because my wheels started acting weird and we figured out they really did need replacing. I probably won't keep these, as they are Dura Ace wheels, but, I swear, they did feel lighter and faster.
Probably all in my head.

Just completed my first century. It was the Cool Breeze Century in Ventura, CA. Lots of fun with wonderful people. The energy was great and the whole ride was well run and organized.

Great job, Deeann!

I rode 80 as a training ride. Was supposed to be 100. The wind wore me out. Am doing a century next weekend. I'm soooo ready to get this IM out of the way so I can ride my bike for fun again.... sigh...

Gorgeous day today, and a great ride. We rode 100.5 miles (self-supported) on a few roads that were new territory to us. Rode out to Elgin and then down along the Fox River on Route 25. Then we did a loop on some new roads in Kane County before heading back east through Aurora. Aside from some slight pain in the tendon behind my right knee, I actually felt pretty darn good today...which is kind of surprising. Supposed to be another perfect day tomorrow, and I have the day off work...so another nice long ride will be on the agenda.

Linda

I was going to do the club ride, but on the way to it , while going downhill @ 30 mph, I had some fun:eek:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-D...0/100_0177.jpg
This was my front tire
got down to about 5 before I went surfing:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...0/100_0180.jpg.
Just some road rash on the elbow. Very lucky:o

Wait, what is that? And what happened?!

BTW, glad you're ok!

Yikes! Glad you're okay. And yeah...what IS that purple thing in your tire? Is that a screwdriver?

OMG...that looks like a recipe for terror! :eek:

Geez, at least my spill was on flat level ground and at relatively slow speed. Thank goodness you are ok.

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

I had some fun:eek:

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Some fun... Yikes. I am very glad you are ok. Is that your jersey you are holding? And what is that pink thing in your tire? That is a huge gash.

the purple thing is a tire iron ( a quick stick, Highly recommend)
The Black thing was my shorts (remember , I 'm on a bent.
I was going downhill, when BAM! steering got interesting fairly fast. I got down to about 5 before I lost control.
I used a Park tire boot to get it back (about 10 miles).
I've put some spare tires on the bike, and may go out tomorrow for a ride.

Couldn't get anyone to rise and shine early on a Sunday morning, so I went for a solo 35. Was intending to do more like 55, but I had a little too much wine Saturday night, and had been working pretty hard physically on Saturday also. So I wimped out on myself, was a little grouchy on my way out the door and felt like the first three miles were no fun.
Then I reached the state park near my house. It has an upper lake and a lower lake, and part of a low mountain ridge runs long one side. Just as I was entering the park I disturbed some wild turkeys, and one actually flew alongside me for a bit. That was cool, it put a smile on my face and I enjoyed the rest of my ride. Even went up Red Hill so I could have the almost way too scary awesome downhill rush.

Friday: new fitting in response to my back pain. Slightly higher seat and slightly back.

20 Saturday (easy peasy)

41 yesterday. Not too bad but the last 6 o so miles my Achilles tendon started acting up. Hmmmm.

I am soon to break my all time distance record!

No road miles since Wednesday :eek: Work and schedule prevented it Thursday & Friday...but was able to hit the trails both Saturday and Sunday. I volunteered portions of both Sat and Sun at a mountain bike race, but made certain I had at least some time to ride Sat morning and Sunday afternoon. Had fun!, though wasn't able to ride as long as I would have liked but I will take it :cool:

I did have a little adventure - I've been fearful of falling down/off a hill and it finally happened. Both me and bike are fine, the only problem was getting my bike back up to the trail. Whew, hopefully I now have THAT out of the way ;)

My beloved mountain goat is one tough bike, it flipped over going down the hill and not scratch on it! I chose well...

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

the purple thing is a tire iron ( a quick stick, Highly recommend)
The Black thing was my shorts (remember , I 'm on a bent.
I was going downhill, when BAM! steering got interesting fairly fast. I got down to about 5 before I lost control.
I used a Park tire boot to get it back (about 10 miles).
I've put some spare tires on the bike, and may go out tomorrow for a ride.

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Did you see what was on the road to cause such a flat that would allow you to put a purple tire iron through the hole?! Thank goodness you are okay!