Saturday, May 22 rides

[kenyonchris]

I'll start.
DH, GF and I went up to OK to ride in the magnolia tour ride. A small ride of about 100 people. I misjudged the time and we wound up being really early, so we registered and spectated at the variety of people, most notable award went to a guy on a hybrid with baskets and a carton of cigarettes in them. He rode in sandals, cutoff khakis, an odd looking helmet, and, of course, a cigarette. My livestrong bracelet nearly caught fire spontaneously just watching. DH has been off the bike since we returned from Ca except to try (again) mountain biking with me (he is new to it) where he ran into a tree within in the first 100 yards and bruised (badly) his ribs...or he is just being a baby. Not sure which. But it put him off his bike for three weeks except for a whiny ride with me earlier this week and a few laps at the track. I, on the other hand, have been busting my butt with intervals and spin and strength training.
Off we go, my GF is a good rider, having done ironman tris in a former life. We usually pedal the same speed, she is better on the flats and I outclimb. So it works ok. DH was off like a shot at the front of the "mass" start. Good roads, nice support, well marked route. We cruised the first 20 miles in just under an hour, including a rest stop for about 5 minutes. And then we turned around. The wind was brutal coming back, sometimes a cross wind, for a long stretch, a headwind. GF and I took turns on the front. DH passed us before we turned around, waved to me that he was OK (he was supposed to be taking it easy to to the ribs), and went on, which is fine with me. He is hard to paceline with, so both of us prefer to let him go ahead.
I felt terrible on the way home. My legs were tired, and the headwind made the gentle grades seem as bad as the mountains I just came from. And I was irritated that my spin was off. I got back to the parking lot in just under 3 hrs for 40 miles. It took us twice as long to get home (of course, we stopped briefly twice). And my back was killing me, my right foot hurt, and my left hand. No idea why. To make it worse, DH was waiting, where he happily told me he had been there for an hour. AN HOUR. He wasn't complaining, he was happy with his ride. I was irritated, having had a bad ride after working my butt off and he had ridden great while partially crippled and off form. UGH.
Oh well. At least it wasn't a longer ride. Prolonging the agony and such.

[Catrin]

Kenonchris - I hope that you are feeling better after resting.

I've had a great day that started with a 7:00 am bike ride I had intended on riding 25 miles this morning on country roads - but the temps and humidity went up quicker than anticipated. I started out with a jacket, wool short-sleeve jersey and knickers. The down-hills would have been too cold without the jacket, but by mile 18 I was HOT - so I called an end to the ride for the day. I am going to need to learn how to deal with the heat - but the jacket was just too much and there was no place to store it if I removed it.

The highpoint of my ride was getting to see another deer! This time I was headed down the hill at 26mph and this beautiful doe stepped out of the trees and stood on the side of the road. This was a little concerning as I didn't think that I could stop in time if she decided to cross the road - I asked her to please stay where she was. Thankfully she went back into the trees - I have developed the habit of talking to deer and squirrels to ask them to not run out in front of me. At least it makes ME feel better about it - and so far it has "worked"

This was just the start of my day, I then headed down to Brown County State Park and hiked the most difficult single-track there with a couple of mountain-biker friends of mine (it was fine for walking, too wet for biking). This was even more fun - though of course I fell on wet rocks - not once, not twice, but THREE times during the 3 hour hike...

My hip and knee is sore from falling, but it was worth it! Now it is time for a hot soak

[TrekTheKaty]

I woke up cranky. It was supposed to be 84 today DH had food poisoning last night, so I had to let him sleep in. I coaxed him out with coffee and pancakes, sure he would have no problem keeping up with me, even when he was recovering. He finally got moving about 9:30 am by saying, "Are you ready to ride? You don't look ready?" Grrrrrr. We headed out of our neighborhood just to discover it is our subdivision garage sale weekend. We could barely navigate through all the double parked cars and people. I finally hit my stride and was keeping a pretty good pace, accelerating over most of the smaller hills. As we hit crested one of the bigger hills, my gears locked up while trying to down shift (picture max HR, then coming to a sudden stop in TRAFFIC). I couldn't get restarted on the hill so I had to pull over and catch my breath. We finally got moving again and near our turn around, DH blew a tire. (When I looked back and realized I dropped him, I knew something was up). I just learned to stand on hills, so on the way back I crested another big hill with DH yelling--"Yeah, I can barely keep up!" I answered by trying to cough up a lung Legs were torched, but I managed to mozy back to the house (at least summer means smoothies!)

Overall, not a bad ride

[DebW]

48 miles today, but all utililty rides. Started the morning by riding 17 miles home from a friend's house where I'd spent the night. Then 16 miles to my bike shop job. Then home. (Why does that add to 49 when my computer says 48?)

[makbike]

DH and I traveled to Ohio to participate in Tour de H20 - a charity ride that designed to raise money for fresh water wells in Kenya.

The day started off damp and chilly but at least it was not raining. We elected to ride the 50 mile route and it took us through some beautiful countryside. The route was well marked making the cue sheet unnecessary and the ride enjoyable.

Today also marked the baptism of both our bikes. DH's rode his brand new Ridley Excalibur and I enjoyed my day on my new Orbea Diva. Both bikes handled well and we had a blast though we discovered there are some adjustments that must be made in the fits - no big deal.

All in all it was a great day - we covered 54 miles, saw some beautiful countryside, helped raise money for a good cause, met some nice people along the way and enjoyed the day together on our new bikes.

[shootingstar]

51 kms. which included farmer's market and then stopover at a gourmet sandwich, pastry place.

The ride inspired me to write a blog post..which might take some time. But will include celebrity chefs (in Canada), etc.

[Bike Chick]

I rode 38 miles with DH and 4 other club members around Rend Lake. It was a beautiful day! Little wind, sunny, and 80 degrees. As usual, I was the only woman, but that's ok. I'm used to that.

I fall in love with my new Luna every time I ride her. She climbs wonderfully and rides like a dream. I can shift and brake from the drops and don't have that nagging shoulder, neck ache that I was so used to. It's a beautiful bike.

[lo123]

35 hilly miles with a coffee shop stop around half-way.

Rode a pretty easy pace with my hubby (who is just back on the bike after a bad collar bone break and surgery) and a friend who was demo-ing new wheels. I'm now jonesing for new wheels... no budget for it yet, but some day I'm going to get those Easton EA90SLXes....

[Crankin]

Quick check in from the road. Got here on Tuesday AM, spent two and half days walking, eating, and drinking our way through Sevilla. Met the tour and did a walking tour on Thursday.
Rode about 30 miles from Carmona (?) outside of Sevilla to Palma del Rio. HOT HOT HOT. OMG, but it was flat. The Orbea men's x small, well, can't reach the brakes from the drops, but it's OK. I do miss my bike.
Yesterday rode 40 miles to Cordoba. A little less hot,(90), but hilly. I've learned that on a bike tour, rolling means hills. Rest day today; we picked up 2 more riders, joining us from Norway. Another walking tour.
Should be cooling a bit tomorrow. The real riding begins then. Lost my Body Glide and it is not good... I've never ridden in these temperatures.
I really like Spain. Excellent food and cerveza.

More to follow.

[TrekTheKaty]

Looks like a slow start here this summer!

Crankin, love the reports. Keep it up!

[jarider]

Did my first charity century this saturday, first century period. 112miles, 7hrs 48min ride time, max spd 44, avg spd 14.5. Did 20miles of the toughest climbs i have ever done.
Feels great to train for something this difficult and make it in the end. No doubt I thought of getting off that darn bike a couple of times.
Rained on us bad, but that was a blessing as well as a curse. Rain started right at the beginning of the steepest climb and didnt stop for 4 hours. Not sure i would have made that climb if it was the usual 90deg temp.

[Tri Girl]

congrats, jarider!!!

[buffybike]

About 6 miles on my new mountain bike--a Jamis Durango. I haven't ridden off-road in about 10 years so I had a good time. Saw a wild turkey and stopped for 5 minutes to admire a beautiful lake in Florida full of herons and "singing" frogs. It was a nice change of pace from my road rides which are more focused and "serious".

[arielmoon]

I did a metric century with the Frank Polack Memorial Ride benefiting Hospice of Marion County. There were over 200 riders and it was a gorgeous day. I started out on the back of the front group until the first SAG where I waited for a friend. So then, I was part of a group of about 12 riders, many from the Villages (retirement center) with about 6 of us rotating pulls on the front. My average was 20.2mph thanks to the great team work. A free massage afterward was much appreciated.