Last Day of July rides

[Crankin]

Today we rode to Kimball Fruit Farm in Hollis, NH. It's rather late in the season for our first trip here, but we waited until our friend's hip had healed for him to ride with us.
We met in Littleton, MA, which shaves about 5 miles off of our usual departure point of our friend's house, ten miles from my house. It's just a gorgeous day out, no hotter than about 78 degrees and very sunny. So, our friend had designed a new route for the middle part of the ride, up to the farm.. much prettier parts of Pepperell, MA (I wondered if I'd see Tygab, who raises her llamas there), although riding through Groton center was busy with cars. There's a serious 5 part hill climb road up to the farm. Only one of the climbs is really steep, but you are tired before you get there! We sat on a picnic bench on the grounds, with sweeping views of Mt. Monadnock and ate our pbjs. The farm has the most amazing varieties of heirloom tomatoes; DH bough one called a pineapple tomato. After lunch, we had about 25 miles left and also a new route both right after the farm, which we had done once last year, and right near the end, to avoid a road that is in horrible condition and getting worse. At about mile 32 I noticed an odd squeak coming from my bike, more when I was in very low gears. At one point, near Lake Massapoag in Dunstable, we stopped and DH deduced it's my chain, which he will change early tomorrow. Then, on to Lost Lake. This is a series of rollers, with a couple of steep climbs, but beautiful. Funny, how I used to think this was the toughest. But, it's still work. At the end of this road, we headed off on the new route back, which was a success.
45 miles, now I am getting ready to make sangria for when our friends come back here for dinner.
A really perfect day.

[loopybunny]

I took a ride from my place in Modesto out to Oakdale (home of the Testicle Festival... totally not kidding - they've even made fun of it on Saturday Night Live) and back.

For the most part, the ride is flat. There are a few little hills and a really scary 2 lane bridge on a busy road with probably a 100 ft drop to the river below. Not much of a bike lane on the bridge either, especially considering the guard rail is only about 2 ft high. I ride it enough though that I know how to take it. Only this time I was coming from the south so it was uphill a bit. Wasn't as bad as I thought.

I saw a lot of other cyclists out. At least 15 of them, only 1 other woman. This always disappoints me. All of the cyclists I encountered were going in the opposite direction except for 1. He actually pulled up next to me at a stop light and we had a conversation for about a half mile. That was actually pretty friendly of him.

The weather was gorgeous too. From probably the low 70's when I left to the mid 80's when I returned. Unfortunately, I realized after I got home that I forgot sunscreen. I'm going to really hurt later!

Round trip, my ride was about 50.4 km. Nice, considering I have only ridden a couple of times since the Livestrong Challenge a few weeks ago. I felt good enough that I could have kept going if I wasn't nearly out of water.

[Owlie]

This wasn't today, but a friend and I rented bikes (mine's at the shop) on Wednesday and took them out on a local bike trail. The bikes in question were Giant Sedonas. 8-10 (don't know exactly) very odd miles. Not enough high gears for a very flat trail, and I had to make sure I wasn't leaving my friend behind. I'd stop every so often and grab a drink to let her catch up. We won't even talk about that saddle...

[Catrin]

Today I participated in a club ride - IndySteel was one of the leaders

It was a beautiful route, very scenic with great roads and the temps cooperated! My plan was to ride the 53 mile option, the second longest, but actually rode 49 miles. See below for why.

My average speed these days isn't too bad, when there aren't too many hills I average between 12.9-13.8 which I think isn't bad for a beginner. I haven't yet found my hill-climbing legs though - and this route is in a part of the state where the hills start to develop. For those who are accustomed to hills then it probably seemed more scenic and rolling.

For me it was scenic and HILLY I had actually hoped it would be that way so I can practice in the hills - and I got exactly what I wished for They really slowed me down though - I fell far behind everyone else. Really, way far behind everyone else. Last week it took me 3.5 hours to ride 48 miles, today it took 4:40 to ride 49 Someone offered me a ride at that point and I took it - it looked like storm clouds were building and after that long in the saddle I was starting to tire a little.

Though it took much longer than last week because of the hills, I feel much, much better than I did last Saturday and I am glad that I went. I only had to walk one hill because my chain fell off the front (both derailleurs have since been adjusted by my LBS) I will return and ride that route solo in the future so I don't have to worry about keeping people waiting for me like they did this time

BTW, I loved how this route was marked - every time I got to wanting to see a marker to make sure I hadn't missed a turn - lo and behold there one was

[azfiddle]

The summer rainy season brought some very welcome cooler temps to the desert- high 70's during entire 6-9 am ride! So the conditions, though humid, were remarkably pleasant. There was a fairly heavy rain last night and we had to be attentive to avoid patches of sand, mud, puddles, debris and finally negotiate a flowing wash (fortunately not deep). A nice change from last Saturday's group ride that left me overheated by the end . Total distance was 33.6 miles and about 14.7 mph, slowed a little by the unintended post-storm obstacle course.

[7rider]

I just spent the past 5 days in San Francisco for work - and although the hotel had a wonderful fitness center and a great lap pool (both of which I made full use), I didn't get any riding in.
But since I made use of the fitness center - both running on the treadmill and pushing lead plates around - my legs were kind of toast for today's ride. Today's ride was a solo mid-afternoon jaunt, having spent the better part of the morning sleeping off jet lag. Thankfully, it wasn't too hot today and humidity was low. I got 41 miles in thru Howard County. Saw a few others out there...not many (DH did the morning N2 ride with his buds), and I must have been dehydrated from the flight back, as 2 water bottles was not enough for 30 miles. I got a bottle of Gatorade at a gas station with 8 miles to go, and I drained that fully by the time I got back to the house. And then downed 2 full glasses of water while standing in the kitchen.

So, in San Francisco, I spent a fair bit of time observing San Francisco riders - who were plentiful - and comparing them to riders I've observed in Honolulu and D.C. (I spent two weeks in Honolulu in June). So, I thought I'd toss out my observations....

Riders in SF ride MUCH cooler bikes than riders in Honolulu. Although I was looking at a much smaller segment of the city, Honolulu riders tended to be on Walmart bikes, and rode a lot of the sidewalks! SF riders had much better on road facilities, and used them regularly. And...it was amazing to see SF riders line up at red lights. And obey them. Perhaps it is true - D.C. riders are maniacs and scofflaws. What's up with D.C. riders who view red lights as mere blips on their radar to ignore?? MY hypothesis: It has to do with the prevalence of on road facilities that makes city riding much more seamlessly integrated with the flow of traffic in SF vs. D.C., where every ride is a battle for space. With integration, acceptance, and common use, perhaps D.C. riders would earn the respect they need. Just my $0.02.

[schnitzle]

My girlfriend got a bike today so we took a First Bike, Last Day of July ride
Just a short 5 mile ride, but for some reason it took a lot out of me. She did great though!

[LilBolt]

Finally got the nerve to learn to ride the velodrome. Had a great time in class and no mishaps. Not sure if I'm ready to race, but the track is fun! No cars, no dogs, no potholes, no brakes which means the riders ahead are fairly predictable. Looks like I'll be bike shopping soon.

[jdubble]

Did the Chris King Gourmet (metric) Century with my husband on our tandem. Hadn't been out on that in quite some time - the last time we did that kind of mileage on it was 8 years ago, before we had kids! It was a beautiful ride, met lots of great people, ate delicious food! A perfect day

[schnitzle]

Did the Chris King Gourmet (metric) Century with my husband on our tandem. Hadn't been out on that in quite some time - the last time we did that kind of mileage on it was 8 years ago, before we had kids! It was a beautiful ride, met lots of great people, ate delicious food! A perfect day

Wow that sounds like an amazing event!!

[indysteel]

Today I participated in a club ride - IndySteel was one of the leaders

It was a beautiful route, very scenic with great roads and the temps cooperated! My plan was to ride the 53 mile option, the second longest, but actually rode 49 miles. See below for why.

My average speed these days isn't too bad, when there aren't too many hills I average between 12.9-13.8 which I think isn't bad for a beginner. I haven't yet found my hill-climbing legs though - and this route is in a part of the state where the hills start to develop. For those who are accustomed to hills then it probably seemed more scenic and rolling.

For me it was scenic and HILLY I had actually hoped it would be that way so I can practice in the hills - and I got exactly what I wished for They really slowed me down though - I fell far behind everyone else. Really, way far behind everyone else. Last week it took me 3.5 hours to ride 48 miles, today it took 4:40 to ride 49 Someone offered me a ride at that point and I took it - it looked like storm clouds were building and after that long in the saddle I was starting to tire a little.

Though it took much longer than last week because of the hills, I feel much, much better than I did last Saturday and I am glad that I went. I only had to walk one hill because my chain fell off the front (both derailleurs have since been adjusted by my LBS) I will return and ride that route solo in the future so I don't have to worry about keeping people waiting for me like they did this time

BTW, I loved how this route was marked - every time I got to wanting to see a marker to make sure I hadn't missed a turn - lo and behold there one was

Catrin,

I feel bad that I told you the ride wasn't all that hilly. In any event, I think you did great. You didn't keep anybody waiting. In leading a club ride, we're there to happily accommodate ALL riders. All of the leaders were really impressed with your enthusiasm and dedication. Most importantly, you seemed to be having fun, which is key.

I'm glad you want to do the route again. It'll help you get your climbing legs. Trust me that it does it get easier with practice.

[OakLeaf]

Some of the 70+'ers in our club are training for a Great Lakes trip later this summer, so they planned a 60-miler, longer and hillier than the Saturday club rides have been lately. It was nice because the Saturday ride had really been deteriorating. Still, I wondered how some of these guys were going to be able to ride what they'd planned. Everyone made it smiling, though, so that was great.

The plan was for a brunch stop at a McD's ... even though there's a sub shop right across the street where one could get marginally better food. I couldn't convince anyone to go there instead! I needed to be back a little earlier than I knew that some of their pace would permit, so two other riders and I went on ahead. We had just finished a leisurely breakfast when the other group arrived ... after breakfast had closed, so they were stuck with the lunch menu.

The three of us decided to take a different route back from what the others had planned. We started seeing rain clouds about 15 miles out, and it soon became clear that it would be raining near our endpoint, but we couldn't tell exactly where. Mrs. T was flagging, and our route option allowed her to go straight home while Mr. T and I rode back to the start, where he'd parked their truck. There was one last big hill just a few miles from where we'd started, and I was really hoping I wouldn't have to either climb or descend it in the wet.

Once again the weather gods smiled on me. Aside from the odd raindrop or two, it really didn't even start sprinkling until Mr. T and I were back in town, with less than a mile to go. Not even enough to get my bike dirty. By the time I was loaded up and had my gear packed, it was raining for real. Yay! (Unfortunately, we only got a few sprinkles at home, and we really need rain. )

Everyone who's got this beautiful weather enjoy it. Won't last long.

Bolt, velodrome, exciting!

Catrin, way to go on the hills. Nothing wrong with slow, and you've got to know that any time ANYONE is climbing, whether it's you or Anthony Charteau, they're going to ride slower than their average pace on the flat. Only way to get stronger on the hills, and more proficient at shifting, is to ride them! Having fun is the key, and sounds like you did.

jdub, wow, that sounds like fun.

[jdubble]

Oh man, it was SO fun. Mac and I woke up this morning still talking about what a good time we had. It was well worth paying for an all-day babysitter and coming home to a house destroyed by two small boys and their teenage boy babysitter

I can't stop thinking about the delicious savory french toast with chevre and sauteed zucchini and garlic they served before the ride either. Or the buttery thin cookie topped with bavarian creme and fresh berries that was served at the rest stop at a winery. I want to eat like that every day!

Of course to eat like that every day, I'd probably have to climb the one killer hill on the route every day too, and I don't know that I want to do that. Well, it actually probably wouldn't be that bad on my own bike, but it was definitely a workout on the tandem. Made for a great descent though - we can really fly downhill on that thing!

I felt very bad for the off-course Tour de Cure century rider we passed going up, who was muttering about "rolling hills? this is way more than 2% grade" - at that point, it was probably a 10 or 11%. Neither of us could breathe well enough to tell him we thought he had turned with our group instead of going straight. I wasn't sure either, so I didn't want to tell him to turn back! Luckily it didn't add too much mileage to his route and we rejoined the Tour de Cure route after that too, so he wasn't going to get totally off-course and lost. A bit confusing to have two rides and ride markings overlapping - meant you really had to pay attention and not just follow the rider in front of you in case they were on the other ride! Thankfully the courses diverged from each other shortly after that.

Anyone who lives in the PNW should definitely keep this ride on their radar for 2011. We will definitely be doing this ride again.

[Catrin]

Catrin,

I feel bad that I told you the ride wasn't all that hilly. In any event, I think you did great. You didn't keep anybody waiting. In leading a club ride, we're there to happily accommodate ALL riders. All of the leaders were really impressed with your enthusiasm and dedication. Most importantly, you seemed to be having fun, which is key.

I'm glad you want to do the route again. It'll help you get your climbing legs. Trust me that it does it get easier with practice.

Thanks for this, I felt a little bad yesterday when I learned that the women at the last SAG had a 45 minute break waiting for me

I really did enjoy the route - and am not just saying that since you were a co-leader. The roads were awesome as far as their condition was concerned and the route itself was beautiful. Obviously it is a challenging route for me and therefore good for me to repeat as often as I can.

I assume that as I get stronger I won't have to go so deep into the granny gear to make it up the steep hills - which will increase my speed.

[tctrek]

Stayed close to home and did a challenging 20 miles with many 7-10% grades. Short ride, but wore me out!