february rides

Did one of my favorite rides to start February…Figueroa Mountain Rd in the Los Padres National Forest. I started in and looped back on Happy Canyon Rd to Los Olivos. 53 miles total, 4500 elevation gain, some good climbs and descents and perfect low 70’s weather. Beautiful views of the Santa Ynez Valley, the San Rafael Wilderness and then the peaceful pastoral views of Happy Valley coming off the mountain and back into Los Olivos. Panoramic views and a good physical challenge is my lure to mountain routes like this one. It’s like a searching for something transcendent…..and finding it.

I haven't ridden this route during spring blooming time (was told by a park ranger i really should) so i'm planning for it this year.

So far, just two short rides- 16 miles on Sunday to Saguaro NP and about 15 miles after work today south and east, partly along the Pantano "river" bike path.

Friday and Saturday it rained here - 2 inches in the valley and 4-7 inches in the mountains- that's a huge amount for Tucson! The Pantano was in full flood and running back to bank earlier in the day, but even by the time I got out (3 pm) on Sunday, it was still carrying a pretty good amount of water. Today- there was nothing but damp sand in the wash- almost no little puddles anywhere.

I am envious. For weeks now I've been thinking: I really want to go for a long bike ride on a warm sunny day. I have been so cranky and stressed out lately and I know the lack of weekend bike rides is part of the problem. Spending quality time with Coach Troy is just not the same thing.

We might get a sunny day with a high above 40 this Saturday. If that happens and it's not too windy I think I will go for a ride near the Chesapeake Bay. I need a water-view fix.

Yesterday was just warm enough that I managed to get out for a short afternoon ride on our Monon trail. Only 13 miles, and not the best ride (there are lots of stops for cross streets) but happy to be out in the sunshine! January/February outdoor rides are far and few between for me so I enjoyed this one.

Well we got a break from the cold yesterday, with sunshine and a high temp above 50. So instead of setting up the bike on the indoor trainer I went out for a ride after work. I didn't start until 7 pm, so it was dark but was still 50 degrees. I rode a somewhat hilly 16-mile route.

I tried out a Sugoi Firewall jacket that I had bought late last winter and had worn for other activities (snow shoveling!) but had not yet worn for a bike ride. I had been worried that it really wasn't windproof, but it was actually quite comfortable. I also tested out the new Bontrager headlight that I bought last month. It's very bright and only cost $100.

Toward the end of the ride I did start to feel a bit cold, possibly because the wind picked up or changed direction. By this morning it was cold and windy again.

I'm looking forward to Saturday -- sunshine and less cold weather is on the way.

I was in Stowe, VT for a few days this week for a conference and decided to try out a fatbike since there is a shop there that rents them (I ended up renting a Pugsley). It was pretty good on the well-packed snowmobile trails, but on another trail with soft snow that was not as well packed all I did was spin the rear wheel and get stuck! There were quite a few places where I had to push it. Even on the hard packed snow, I don't think I was moving much if any faster than I would have been on XC skis...think I will stick to that and snowshoeing for winter sports. It would be interesting to try riding a fatbike on the beach or dirt trails though. For those who do a lot of snow riding on fatbikes, is it normal to be that slow, or was that just me being bad at it?

32 miles today in sunny flat Fla (don't hate - just come on down!), and another 32 planned for tomorrow. But it's time to wander back over and re-read the posts on different saddles - ow-ow-ow!:(

I led a 39-mile club ride today. It was colder than I had hoped it would be, apparently due to some clouds that wedged between the Chesapeake Bay and the Blue Ridge. It was especially chilly by the bay, which was our destination. The views were nice anyway, though, and temps were above 40 for the entire ride. Overall it was a nice winter ride.

My legs were tired by the end and I have tons of stuff I should do around the house tomorrow. But one of the friends on today's ride asked me to join her tomorrow up in Frederick County. I've been told that when I'm an old lady I will not look back fondly on memories of cleaning the house -- so I'm going for another ride. I just hope my legs are up to the task.

Jolt, go skiing! Some of the best x country skiing around in Stowe.

Good riding weather continues in southern Arizona. I got in after-work rides on Mon, Weds and Friday, a 45 mile ride Sat and an 18 mile ride today. Total: over 113 miles for the week (Mon- Sunday)

Jolt - this is normal. The snow right now is not the right consistency to make it easy going on the fat bikes. It needs to be harder packed than what is possible given the cold temps and fluffy consistency. That said, you CAN ride right now - early in the morning before the temps rise and a lot of traffic has hit the trails is best. The other trick is to keep a STEADY, EVEN pedal stroke with low power to help avoid spinning the rear tire. The sides of the trails are also typically harder pack than the middle - the groomers hit there while sleds tend to run the middle of the trails, leaving the sides harder pack. Skiing is faster, but there is NOTHING like being out on the fat bikes in the snow for 3-4 hours! I would suggest not totally giving up on it, and giving it another go.

Up in Bethel, ME, and here in Bedford, MA, we have been riding outside a lot. I did 3.5 hours (ride time - overall duration was closer to 4.5 hours) on Friday, and 2.5 on Saturday. Add to that close to 2 hours Thursday and another 2 on a coffee ride on the Minuteman and through Arlington's Great Meadow yesterday, and that puts me at 10 hours this week, not counting the ride I did last Monday. Yup - it's snowing, but I still haven't ridden indoors in over a year and a half! Yay fat bikes! :)

SheFly

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Originally Posted by ny biker

I led a 39-mile club ride today. It was colder than I had hoped it would be, apparently due to some clouds that wedged between the Chesapeake Bay and the Blue Ridge. It was especially chilly by the bay, which was our destination. The views were nice anyway, though, and temps were above 40 for the entire ride. Overall it was a nice winter ride.

My legs were tired by the end and I have tons of stuff I should do around the house tomorrow. But one of the friends on today's ride asked me to join her tomorrow up in Frederick County. I've been told that when I'm an old lady I will not look back fondly on memories of cleaning the house -- so I'm going for another ride. I just hope my legs are up to the task.

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So we rode 42 miles on Sunday. The planned route was 40, but we added a couple of detours for the sake of scenery. But here's the thing -- it was springlike around DC on Sunday, sunny and in the 60s. And our ride was in northern Maryland between Frederick and Taneytown -- where it was cloudy and cold with temps in the low 40s and enough snow on the ground to make it feel a good 10 degrees colder. The route was really nice, with lots of quiet rural roads and plenty of creek and river crossings. For our rest stop we chose a nice little bakery with tasty food. And it was a great chance to explore some roads that I've never been on before. It was just so cold, on a day when it was warm and sunny in our backyards. When we got back home we saw cyclists wearing shorts.

Despite the chill, we had a fun time. We were disappointed with the weather but did not regret going.

I will try to ride the same route again on a warmer day. In the meantime I've ordered new booties (from TE, of course) because the ones I bought last year are just not warm enough to keep my feet warm when temps are in the low 40s or lower.

So I rode more than 80 miles last weekend, which is way more than I've ridden since last October. My legs are a bit sore but overall they don't feel too bad. Of course now we're expecting two arctic blasts over the next few days and below-average temps beyond that. I'm just glad we're not buried in snow and hoping things stay that way.

I had a bit of fun riding on Saturday. We were having wild weather--big wind out of the south, rain showers, sun, dark ominous clouds (and sometimes all three at once)--the kind of day you feel kind of awesome for venturing out in at all. I had my usual Saturday commute, then went over to a friend's house, taking a detour to add miles--and these were miles that went straight into the wind, right on the water where there was nothing to shelter you.

Normally I find headwinds really demoralizing, but something about the wildness of the weather, the constant drama and change of the sky, and the waves on the water flipped a switch, and I found myself enjoying the struggle to pedal a tiny gear on flat ground while hunched over in my drops as low as I could be... It was such a stupid thing to do to literally go out of my way to pedal extra miles into the wind that I just had to laugh at myself and the craziness of the situation. When the rain started really coming down, I unzipped my rain jacket further because it felt so refreshing. I had about 32 miles on the day by the time it was all over, and I felt like I could claim victory in an epic ride--when really, on any other day, it wouldn't have been hardly anything to take note of. And it really was gorgeous out, in a storm-tossed drama kind of way.

Yep, khg! Know the feeling. Sometimes I just truly love those days. I often talk out loud to the headwind and the rain--put my head down and bull on in. :)

We did MarieV's favorite Maltby-Granite Falls 100k last weekend to complete our third year of tandem P-12. I'm pleased about that, but the real reason I'm posting is to show you all this.

Seen on a lovely little back road called Woods Creek Road: Somebody is in the midst of doing an extraordinary eagle-and-salmon wood carving out of a tree trunk. It looks like it's still in process because the wood chips are fresh. The first picture shows Google Earth's view of this house in 2009; the second shows what we saw last week. Please click on the second one so you can see the detail in the carving. Boy! So much talent. I wanted to leave a thank you note. :)

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Originally Posted by SheFly

. . . Yay fat bikes! :)

SheFly

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Indeed! We regularly see fat bikes while snowshoeing in Tahoe and when the kid (in Boston) and I visited Mom (in Maine) last week, we saw demos of fat bikes at LL Bean, which was really cool!!

Most of the rest of the US seems to be locked into blizzards and other forms of miserable cold weather, but since it is mostly avoiding southern Arizona, we were able to complete another 200k brevet (actually 210k) yesterday. It seems to be getting a little easier- or maybe it was just a nice day, so I felt like this one was about 95% fun and only about 5% misery. That 5% was mostly in 4 miles headed uphill into the wind, from mile 98 to mile 102. Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable ride with my husband and two friends.

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Originally Posted by azfiddle

Most of the rest of the US seems to be locked into blizzards and other forms of miserable cold weather, but since it is mostly avoiding southern Arizona, we were able to complete another 200k brevet (actually 210k) yesterday. It seems to be getting a little easier- or maybe it was just a nice day, so I felt like this one was about 95% fun and only about 5% misery. That 5% was mostly in 4 miles headed uphill into the wind, from mile 98 to mile 102. Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable ride with my husband and two friends.

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It's usually at the end when you get that--isn't that so? :) Glad to hear someone had a nice ride.

Thanks Salsabike. We also had another 3 miles from mile 126.5-129 that were uphill into the wind, but nicer pavement and it didn't feel too bad. It was that feeling of heading back to the barn....

Just commuting miles for me (52). I might see if I can take the road bike out tomorrow, but homework calls.

azfiddle...thinking I'm going to read about a 300k that you're preparing for any day now *S*

Started the month doing a mountain route, did a Palm Springs Ca century in the middle of the month and ended it with a ride into the Santa Monica Mountains. The photos start with Pepperdine University at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon road which is where I headed into the mountains and then up Piuma Canyon road and back down to PCH. 68 miles, temps in the high 60’s and just an enjoyable days outing.

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and back to my neighborhood...
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Smashing, RebeccaC! You sure you don't want to go into adventure photography? Your pictures are REALLY wonderful.

Beautiful Rebecca!
I know that road from several years of going to a music festival near there (sadly, it no longer happens) - the Summer Solstice Festival.

thanks for the comments!!!

salsabike...i like the career i have :)....but also just being creative in other ways!!

azfiddle...there are still some summer solstice and spring equinox celebrations in the malibu area, it is malibu :)

mary wright, wife of frank lloyd's grandson, has both on a ranch on piuma road.

Rebecca, this was a weekend festival of traditional music organized by the Southern California Traditional Music Society. The festival had an amazing diversity of traditional music, dance and craft workshops, evening concerts and jam sessions of all sorts. Sadly, the long-time organizer succumbed to cancer, and although they tried to keep it going for a couple years, it eventually folded. It was such a great experience and really jump-started my fiddle playing.

The folk arts seem like they would be a good combination with the landscape/nature of those mountains. I’ll always feel a good connection to that area because of my rides, hikes….and photography, images that can bring a connection to a good memory even for others who we are sometimes not even unaware of….

Rebecca, absolutely beautiful photos! They remind me how much I loved "winters" in San Diego during my childhood, when the hills and valleys would get so green because of the the rain. The mountain ranges also remind me of the McDowell Mountains near North Scottsdale the few weeks in January and February when the rain would turn them into that same beautiful shade of pine green.

Salsabike, that carving is amazing! DH and I did the Maltby-Granite Falls 100K on Valentine's Day, but I don't remember seeing that sculpture. My FD was acting up on that ride, and I dropped my chain at least 5-6 times, so I'm not surprised I missed it. We decided to do a new ride the following weekend and did the Woodinville-Granite Falls 100K, which was awful. Not only did it start with that long climb on the Woodinville-Duvall Rd., which I always hate on RSVP, but so much of the ride was on busy highways with a lot of cement trucks. I wish we had just done Maltby-Granite Falls again. In any case, I'm halfway done with my first P-12. Considering the horrible winter weather the rest of country is enduring, we in the PNW are so lucky with our unusually mild and sunny winter this year.