How was your 5/7 ride?

[buffybike]

Today I rode 28 miles of rollers with a friend. I felt great, but she was struggling a little. And the road we chose was really bumpy--I think I'm still vibrating from it. Gorgeous weather and scenery, though. At the end of the ride, all I wanted to do was head home and shower/change; my riding partner, however, chose that time to tell me all about how her soon-to-be-ex-husband is so crazy. I ended up standing in the parking lot for nearly an hour listening to her "purge" herself emotionally. Next week, I think I'll ride alone.

[Crankin]

Today all I had time for was an early AM coffee ride... 10.5 miles, with the coffee break in the middle. Then we met DS and DIL in the city for Mother's Day, at an awesome Mexican restaurant, for brunch. We always do this on Saturday, so there are no crowds. After that, since we were in Somerville, we went to the Bike Expo, where we saw some cool bikes made by local builders. There's quite a few boutique type builders here.
Yesterday I rode 39 miles, with my friend who just got a Ruby. I had ditched the group ride to go with her and something funny happened. The group ride was split into the regular and "spirited" group. So, my friend who is much slower than me, told me to go ahead on a hill. All of a sudden, I felt some riders behind me. It was the "spirited" group. They asked me to join in, but I couldn't leave my friend. I got a little sprint from trying to hang on with them. They turned where I was stopping to wait for my friend. I doubt I could have gone 40 miles at that pace. About 10 miles later, we ran into the other group, going in the other direction from us. After about 20 people said hi to me, my friend was amazed at the friendliness of this group. I left my friend in west Acton and took the long way home, where I was dropped by a guy on a recumbent, going down a hill.

[azfiddle]

Buffybike- the ride sounds better than the post-ride...

I rode 41 miles. The real speedsters in our group took a longer route, so I kept up great except for one grade in the middle of the ride. 3 of us gals had a wonderful rotating pace line on the way back for about or 8 miles- it was almost a zen experience. Getting hot in the desert now - we were happy to be back around 10:00 am.

[redrhodie]

I did my favorite 18 mile loop. I think I'm over my 100 mile per week goal for the first time this year. It was a good week for cycling.

I felt awesome today! I don't know what happened, as I had to drive to Boston last night, and my neck totally hurt from that. It's less than an hour and a half away, but it's the longest I've been in a car in months, and it was painful. But I woke up feeling great. My ride was great, and I felt a little high from it all day. Can't say feeling good was related to the driving, though. That was pretty awful.

[Catrin]

Preparing to leave town very early tomorrow so only had time for an 11 mile ride this morning, but I will take it! SO tired of tights and wool but that is better than not riding...

I will miss my bikes for the next 5 days! Hope to come home to drier weather and a chance to finally get to my 100 mile/week goal!

[OakLeaf]

Half of TOSRV down and hoping for dry roads tomorrow! 50th anniversary of the ride, so I wasn't going to miss it.

[Catrin]

Half of TOSRV down and hoping for dry roads tomorrow! 50th anniversary of the ride, so I wasn't going to miss it.

Ooooh, looking forward to reading the ride report! I would love to do this ride but it is so early in the year...

[callmej]

Rode 52 miles today with 2 good riding buddies. It was awesome! Out in the country with little traffic and temps in the mid to upper 70's and beautiful carolina blue skies. My second 50+ mile ride ( I'm getting ready for the horsey 100 in Georgetown Ky Memorial day weekend - not that I'm doing 100 in one day, but hopefully over two days). We got a late start waiting for fog to burn off, so didn't get on the road until almost 9 a.m. After the ride, went for lunch, including a frosty cold mug and pitcher of Yuengling..... Then walked across the street to the local bike shop. They had a bin of socks and gloves for $5. each. I got a pair of sugoi winter gloves (regular retail $80) pus a pair of sugoi Betty gloves for $5.00 each -woo hoo ! Came home relaxed and watched the Kentucky Derby. Life is good!

[emily_in_nc]

Had a great -- well, 2 great rides today! Did a 16-mile errand ride in the morning with DH. Farmer's market, food co-op, and Trader Joe's. Fairly urban riding and a bit of traffic. Brought everything home in panniers, unloaded, had a snack, refilled the water bottle, and headed back out for another 16-mile ride (solo). This one was my usual suburban "neighborhood" loop, where I get to look at all the beautiful lush lawns and rose gardens in the lovely area near where I live. So, 32 miles total on a gorgeous day. Started in the low 60s, ended in the mid 70s. Light breeze, sunshine, blue skies, low humidity. Perfecto!

[hirakukibou]

Rode 47 miles with DH today. We made it home just before the rain started.

[Savra]

Showed up for a group ride this morning. The rain was supposed to have blown over and it was supposed to be sunny. However, still raining where we were supposed to meet. Only one other person showed up for the ride. We decided to drive to the sun and start from there. My partner rider ended up having a slower pace than the group usually does so we meandered for about 25 miles. It was great. Mostly sunny. Nice scenery. I'm glad I went out - even if it might have rained.

[owlice]

21 miles on my usual trails and just a little road this evening, with the ducks, the mutts, the gnats, the small children, the big children, the grandmothers, the clueless youth, the clued-in youths, the geese, the beavers, a few kamikaze robins (I swear one of these is going to end up snagged in my open, panting mouth one day), the bikers with no helmets/lights/reflective gear after dark, the stop signs, and a few, but only a few, raindrops.

A fabulous time!

[luv2climb]

Thanks to one of my YouTube subscribers, I found two more good steep, painful climbs to play on These are both in El Dorado Hills, CA. The first one, Hollow Oak Drive, has a maximum grade of 16%. I climbed both sides of it between Bass Lake Road and Spinning Wheel Court:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84143204

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaaFCbwxCGE


view from top of Hollow Oak Drive climb by kittyz202, on Flickr


Hollow Oak Drive & Spinning Wheel Ct by kittyz202, on Flickr

The second climb was quite a bit shorter but it was steeper and more painful. This is Boulder Ridge Road. I measured a very quick 22%, but I tend to believe the more consistent 20% readings I got for a max grade:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWRVLM-pgUk


view from top of Boulder Ridge Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr


my Specialized Sirrus at top of Boulder Ridge Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

I got chased by a dog near the top of a climb. As you will see, my usual tactic of making puppy sounds to calm barking dogs failed miserably:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JHqmrRUcJ0

[KatzPajamas]

Today I rode 28 miles of rollers with a friend. I felt great, but she was struggling a little. And the road we chose was really bumpy--I think I'm still vibrating from it. Gorgeous weather and scenery, though. At the end of the ride, all I wanted to do was head home and shower/change; my riding partner, however, chose that time to tell me all about how her soon-to-be-ex-husband is so crazy. I ended up standing in the parking lot for nearly an hour listening to her "purge" herself emotionally. Next week, I think I'll ride alone.

Hmmm...even though I'm new to riding, I like your solution! Plus thanks, because I will use this as a lesson of what to avoid

[tulip]

55 miles, gorgeous weather. Cap2Cap ride, 1500 riders. It was a great ride.