Phoenix area riders?

[mommelisa]

Hi, all:

I'm looking for someone to ride on the weekends with, and maybe sometime during the week if its early.

I'm not a beginner but I'm not an expert either, just trying to get better!! My longer rides are in the neighborhood of 2 - 2 1/2 hours right now.

Anyone in AZ?
mommelisa

[JanT]

Hi! I live in NW Glendale. I've been mountain biking for a few years, and just started road riding a year ago. The group rides all seem to be on the east side, so I've only done one. What side of "town" do you live on? I'd enjoy having some company, especially now that's it's getting hot!

[mommelisa]

Hi, Jan! I live in Scottsdale (Grayhawk) but I'm willing to travel!

I've been riding about a year and I really love it. I'm training for a couple of triathlons coming up in July and the fall, and as I said before my longer rides are between 2 - 3 hours right now. I'd really love to do longer eventually.

I usually like to ride early - I hate traffic!! My husband has kind of messed my training schedule up - he's training to hike the Grand Canyon this year, and his long hikes are on Saturday mornings, so I've had to readjust my training schedule a little. I'm trying to do my my long runs on Friday morning and my longer rides on Sunday, but I'm open for any day. I ride with a group on Thursday mornings from 100th Street and Via Linda which is a nice easy group - we kind of all go our own pace. The group is part of racelab, have you heard of it?

Let me know what you'd be up for!
Melisa

[JanT]

I'd heard of race lab, but didn't know anything about it. I just went to their website to check it out. Looks like they offer good programs, although expensive. Are you in their triathlon program? I'm concerned that I could not keep up with you. I am not fast, but have good stamina.

Do you have to be a member of Race Lab to ride with your Thursday group? How is the pace? What is the start time? In a couple weeks, school will be out, and maybe I could check it out.

Jan

[mommelisa]

Jan:

Racelab is great, I started with them years and years ago when all they were doing was coaching runners. They've branched out into more now - triathlon training, swimming, adventure racing, hiking. Its a pretty diverse group. Yes, I'm in the tri program. It is a little expensive, but they make me a schedule that is built around my needs as well as my own zones (hr zones) and I have access to about 10 coached sessions a week if I wanted. I do the swim class on Tuesday mornings, a track session on Wed and the group ride on Thursday but that is about it. I prefer to do my long runs around my own home where I have a running buddy who likes to run with me.

Our Thursday group starts at 5:30 at 100th Street and Via Linda. There is an AJ's there where we meet. We have a few set loops that we do, and everyone pretty much goes at their own pace (I would say between 14 - 17 mph) and then we have regroup points. You are always welcome to join us and see if you like it. There are a few high shool kids getting into biking and then the rest are just average like me who have lives and jobs and like to train. :-)

I am not fast, but I am like you, I can go for ever. I really haven't been riding long, but I enjoy it and I'm getting more comfortable on my bike. I don't think I ever rode one as a kid, so it was a big learning curve for me!

Maybe we can meet sometime and try it out. I am a "traffic-wussy" though, so I like to go early before the cars are out in force. Just let me know.

Melisa

[JanT]

Okay, Melisa. I feel less intimidated, as it sounds like we travel at about the same pace. Let's keep in touch. Sometimes my mountain biking friends can't get out on a Sunday, and I could do a long ride that fits your schedule. Or if you are wanting to do a Saturday or mid-week ride, you can give me a holler. I'm a teacher, and in two more weeks, I will be FREE! I don't mind driving east, as it is so scenic there. We have our scenic areas around Lake Pleasant, but the roads this way are very scary! I often ride the bike path that runs from near my house all the way out to the east side along the Arizona canal. It has underpasses at the major intersections so you can just ride, ride, ride, withour fear of traffic. It's pretty pleasant, although on weekends you sometimes have to deal with walkers, dogs, and unpredictable kids on bikes.

Do you ever ride at night? Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night during the summer and go for a ride. It's awesome around 3am, still warm, but more tolerable, and you have the roads to yourself. If you ride near the edge of civilization, as I often do, you hear the coyotes yipping. It's finally getting warm enough at night (for me!) to enjoy that kind of ride.

[mommelisa]

I have never ridden at night - it sounds beautiful! You must have a light on your bike? As a runner, I've done many, many long runs in the dark. I laugh now at some of them and how dangerous a few of them were when I was running alone! For my first marathon, we used to train along the canals by Granada Park. One weekend, I had to do 20 and my girlfriend had to do 15 or 18 - something like that, so I ran the canal for half an hour before she met me in the dark. Seems like it might be safer on a bike. :-)

We're taking off with the kids for Florida the last two weeks of May (they get out on the 19th, I know what you mean about summer!!). Why don't we try to hook up the first week of June? Maybe you could join our Thursday group that week or we could try another day? Summer is easier for me, too, during the week because I don't have to rush to get the kids ready for school and my husband is not a morning person so I usually have till about 9 or 9:30 before he has to leave.

I think I'm going to head out tomorrow morning early - maybe around 5:30. My husband, kids and I always spend Mother's Day at the Princess at the pool with my MIL, so I figured I'd feel better about sipping pool drinks all day if I rode first!

Have a great Mother's Day, btw, I think your profile said you had children!

[JanT]

Running on the canals at night? Oooo, you ARE brave! I used to run half-marathons, and naturally did runs at night, but always on well-lit streets. Ever since that woman got beheaded on the bike path (Cave Creek Wash Trail) over by 25th Av and the canal, I've been creeped out. That was a good 10-12 or more years ago. Unsolved case. When I ride at night on the streets, I stick to major thoroughfares, for the most part. I have done a couple very early morning pre-dawn mountain bike rides, but only at our "secret" trails where there are rarely any people around. Probably not the smartest thing, but filled the need for adventure. I doubt I'll do it again by myself, since our "private" access has been closed off for development and I'd have to access from a major highway. Too scary for me. I have a NiteRider non-digital Evolution, which I can mount on handlebars, but currently have mounted on my back-up helmet. It's very bright, and I also have an LED red tail light that I clip to my Camelbak.

I don't know if I'll ride tomorrow or not. I feel guilty heading out alone for a few hours when the family has plans for me. Maybe a night ride is in order!

I do have two children, both grown: boy 23, girl 26, both still at home. My husband is retired (lucky!). How old are your children?

Let me know when you get back in June what day you'd like to ride. I'm open to anything. I just like to ride!

Happy mother's day!

[mommelisa]

Jan, I hope you had a great Mother's Day! I did get out a little on Sunday morning, I rode from Grayhawk down Hayden to Bell and up through McDowell Mtn Ranch. It was about 5:30, and because it was Sunday (and Mom's Day) there was no one on the road, which I really liked! Did you get out? When I got home the entire family was still sleeping!

I don't remember that happening to that woman on the canal, but I wasn't running much then. I didn't start running the canals until my second was born. I had to go back to work when she was about 5 weeks old and running was the fastest thing I could think of. Two children under two, a fulltime job, etc, etc! My kids are 10 (boy) and 8 (girl) and they are so excited that school is almost over - they get out next Thursday. Where do you teach? I got my degree in Elementary Ed from UofA but never ended up teaching, go figure.

Why don't you try to join us on the 2nd for our Thursday ride? I generally try to ride between 60 - 90 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday and then the one longer one on the weekend. My hubby is done with his training at the end of this month, so I can get out on Saturdays after that, too. If you can make any of those days between now and then, just let me know and I can come meet you.

Btw - I am so happy you responded to my post!

[JanT]

Mother's Day was very restful. In keeping with a family-type day, I convinced my husband to go on a short ride on the bike paths with me. It's an understatement to say he's not quite the biking fanatic I am, but he does like to get out occasionally on weekends for short rides when there is not too much traffic. I'll need the couple weeks after school gets out to get some of my conditioning back. It's been a hectic year. I teach special education in the Peoria School District, and my self-contained class has been bumped around the schools in recent years. The district is growing faster than they can build schools, so special ed classes get moved to make room for the regular classes. I'm packing up my classroom again, getting ready to move to Zuni Hills, 107th Av. and Williams, which is about a mile or so south of Happy Valley Road.

I used to run regularly, even though I stopped racing, until this year. My knees have been bugging me, but I may start up again with just 2.5-4 milers. We recently bought a golden retriever, and I take her for nightly walk/jogs. As she grows, I hope to do all jogging for our 2.5 mile course. We'll see how the knees hold up. I don't want to mess them up for riding!

It's about time I take that cute little puppy out for our evening exercise. I'm glad you posted; I'd been thinking of doing the same, but was waiting for summer. I wonder where all the other Phoenix women riders are?! I know they must be around, but do they get online? I thought you'd get more responses.

[mommelisa]

Jan:

We decided not to go to the Grand Canyon this weekend. My hubby isn't feeling well and I'd rather he not take the chance of getting down into the canyon and not being able to get back out!!

Any chance you might want to ride Saturday early?

Melisa

[JanT]

That sounds good to me! I haven't been riding much lately, due to long work days and a bad cold, but I think I'm up to a 2-3 hour outing. What did you have in mind?

[mommelisa]

Anytime Saturday is good for me - the earlier the better. Do you want to meet somewhere on your side of town? I have a couple of areas to ride around here, but nothing that will give us 2 to 3 hours where we don't have to cover the same ground.

[JanT]

One place I've ridden that may be close to midway for us both is to park at the Reach 11 trailhead on Cave Creek Road, just north of the 101. You can ride north on Cave Creek Road, ride through Carefree, and continue east past Pima. I've always turned around where the road becomes one lane, which makes for about a 35 mile out/back. It's pretty much slight uphill going out, so the return is easier. We could extend it if we wanted by continuing east on Cave Creek towards Barlett, or just doing some exploring.

I also ride the Az. canal, which is traffic free. We could meet at Granada Park and ride west to 75th Av and back. Granada Park: 6505 N. 20th St., north of Maryland Ave., Phoenix. (take 20th St. south from Glendale Ave., or 18th St. north from Bethany Home Rd. I don't have a true mileage read on that, but I'd guess it's about also 35 miles or so.

Most of the rides I've done are out-backs, because there aren't alot of bike-friendly roads here on the west side. Many of our bike lanes go a mile or two and then stop. I'm still chicken when it comes to riding by myself without a bike lane. With company, your more visible and it's not so scary.

I don't know which is closer to you or which kind of ride you'd prefer. I'd like to start early, as in 5:30 or 6. If that seems to early for you, given a drive, I'd be willing to drive east your way. It's supposed to be our first 100 degree day on Saturday!

I'm going to bed, but I'll check tomorrow morning for your reply, and again around 6 when I get home. I'm psyched!
Jan.

[JanT]

Thanks for a great ride, Melisa! The hills at the end about did me in, but I enjoyed the scenery in Scottsdale. Let me know when you're ready to ride in June. I think you'd like the Cave Creek Road (Sonoran Bikeway) ride.