April Fools Ride Reports

[uk elephant]

Didn't see anyone else having started a ride report for today, so I thought I would....

Had a great 55 mile ride, and for once had company on today's ride. I'm training for the CA Aids LifeCycle and have been putting in lots and lots of miles of solitary training. Turns out there is another ALC participant in the area, based in London! He travels a lot, but today we were finally able to coordinate a ride. He came up here on the train and we cycled up through Essex and Suffolk to the historic town of Lavenham full of 14th century buildings and is a very nice little village where we had lunch in a quaint little tea room (I had delicious carrot and apple soup). A very enjoyable ride despite the headwinds which seemed to follow us both there and back and a glorious sunny and warm spring day (although he thought it was a bit on the chilly side, but then again he is from LA and I'm from Norway).

And among the sights along the way....adorable baby sheep, baby rabbits (it must be spring), beautiful pheasants and a large flock of llamas. Should have brought the camera...

[makbike]

Sounds like a wonderful ride, UK Elephant!

I went out to do a short, easy recovery ride today. I rode a slow 15 miles and simply enjoyed the warmth of the sun! I only wish the wind had not made this ride so hard on the way home. All in all it is a great day to be outside. Guess I'll venture out now and mow the grass (I hate yard work).

[Chile Pepper]

I had a great ride this morning--54 km with some nice climbing/descents. Max speed: 50 kph I left early to beat the traffic (there is always traffic on the best roads here), so it was a bit cold (it's fall here, not spring). I was out for two and a half hours, which is my longest ride since I started back in January. I'm very pleased.

[Offthegrid]

I did a test ride of my route to work on my commuter bike. Wow, it definitely is different than my road bike. Rode about 20 miles (no computer on that bike) -- 10 miles there and back. Learned a few tweaks I still have to make to the bike but the route went well although my muscles are very tired now.

I saw two cardinals and a blue jay. Very pretty. And the rain held off.

[mimitabby]

This morning the temp was 37 degrees! oh man, that's cold! and windy!
There were big patchs of blue sky and so I met Tiegyr and her boyfriend
and we all did a quick spin down the River trail got to kent and turned around and came back. THe weather forecast said 6mph winds, but according to Noaa, it was 18 mph! BRRRR
and Tiegyr was in shorts and shorty gloves. She's a tough strong rider..and has a beautiful Orange Orbea!

21 miles according to my computer, 23 according to hers.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

25 miles, 38-45 degrees. My very first and pretty low key official "club ride"...see other thread for how it went.

[Veronica]

Thom and I set out to do our local loop today. It's about 40 miles, a nice ride to do and still have energy to do chores. We were on the road out to the Las Vaqueros Reservoir, which sees almost no traffic, and my cell phone rang. It was my sister Vicki, calling with the latest update on my sister Valerie who got diagnosed with tongue cancer on Thursday.

I slowed down and rode one handed, talking with her. But this road is pretty far out and as I went around a corner, I lost the signal.

We turned around and went back to where we had a signal and I stood on the side of the road and called her back. We'd been talking for about ten minutes and I heard riders coming up behind me. I turned to see who it was, lost my balance and because my right foot was still clipped in, toppled over. It was a pretty funny fall according to my husband.

I have three, inch long gashes on my right knee. My left knee is banged up on the inside from hitting my bike. I rode the 12 miles home with my knee oozing blood and Thom drafting me.

As I was falling, I was still talking to my sister and I was more worried about the bike hitting the ground then me.

It's been a heck of a week.

V.

[RolliePollie]

Today was my first ever solo ride on the road!

Only 15 miles with a slow average of 13.5 mph (but in my defense, I'm still a newbie on platform pedals and it's really hilly here!). This was a big hurdle I needed to cross because I am really rather petrified of the traffic around here. No shoulders, curvy country roads, still sand and gravel all over the pavement from recent snow, and hills, hills, and more hills! I was literally shaking during quite a bit of the ride, but I did it and now I feel great!

[jobob]

Only 15 miles with a slow average of 13.5 mph (but in my defense, I'm still a newbie on platform pedals and it's really hilly here!).

Well, don't beat yourself up, this oldbie on clipless pedals did 13.5 mph as well (look 3 posts up).

ma, she's callin' me slow!

[yellow]

Well, don't beat yourself up, this oldbie on clipless pedals did 13.5 mph as well (look 3 posts up).

ma, she's callin' me slow!

Jo, this woman is riding where I used to live, you know, the area that SK had to educate me on what "rollers" were (I always thought "rollers" described rolling uphill terrain...go up a hill, flatten out a little, go up another hill, flatten out a little...you get the idea). I know better now. Sara is not riding on rollers.

Sara: 13.5 mph average is not slow for that thar part of the world! I often had average speeds in the 13s or low 14s when I lived there (and that figures in the 40 mph downhills). You did a GREAT job!

Oh, by the way, I rode 300 miles in a snowstorm, all on my 52x11 while talking on the cell phone and drinking lattes handed to me by Peter Reid.


APRIL FOOL!

(I can't believe someone else didn't do this before me.)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Today was my first ever solo ride on the road!

Only 15 miles with a slow average of 13.5 mph (but in my defense, I'm still a newbie on platform pedals and it's really hilly here!). This was a big hurdle I needed to cross because I am really rather petrified of the traffic around here. No shoulders, curvy country roads, still sand and gravel all over the pavement from recent snow, and hills, hills, and more hills! I was literally shaking during quite a bit of the ride, but I did it and now I feel great!

Hey, CONGRATULATIONS on your first solo road ride!!!! You GO, girl!!!!

You think YOU are slow?? Boy we've got some major hills all around here- some of them are so steep I'm actually going 2.5 mph on the way up!! My ride averages which include the hills are usually 9 to 10 mph. You are totally Speedy Gonzales compared to me. Good thing I don't obsess about speed! I concentrate on slowly getting fitter and stronger and on enjoying the simple beautiful act of riding out in the country.

[mimitabby]

Gee, yesterday i averaged 13mph and I thought that was fast!!
Sara, you're doing great!

[SheFly]

It all started out fine. DH and I headed out of the house on the trusty tandem to do an easy-ish ride (he is having some knee trouble). My post today was going to be about he won all of the town line sprints . Instead, our ride ended not so nicely...

As we were coming home through Acton, we cut through the Colonial Spirits parking lot to head up Pope Road. Suddenly, I knew that we had a flat. Here is the sequenc of events from here:

1. Run over small piece of glass.
2. Glass embeds in rear tire, cutting the tube and causing a flat.
3. Remove rear wheel, find glass, remove tube.
4. Take spare out of seat back, and put on wheel.
5. Spare is a 26" x 1.25 - we have 700 cc wheels...
6. Look for patch kit.
7. No patch kit in seat bag.
8. Make spare tube fit (difficult, but workable).
9. Pump up tire - doesn't hold air.
10. Pump breaks.
11. No cell phone either, and we are 10 miles from home.
12. Ride tandem remaining 10 miles on rim, including along dirt bike path (cause it's shorter).

This was NOT a fun way to end what had been a good ride.

The lesson here (are you all listening?) is to CHECK your supplies and make sure that you have everything you need BEFORE you head out on a 50 mile ride. Also, I will ALWAYS ride with a cell phone from here on out.

Foolish on April Fool's Day....

SheFly

[mimitabby]

eyewww!! what a bummer!

[Fredwina]

I did a 20 mile ride yesterday. Granted, not much for me, but the Sierra Club was having a a full moon hike in the San Gabriels, and I had a couple of chruch related things to do.