Anyone doing Primavera?

[snapdragen]

Calories Burned: 2794

A perfect of example of why I ride! (Besides the obvious one of just plain loving it!)

[Trek420]

Bike Goddess sez "Everytime I see someone riding at night without lights I really want to give them a scolding (I have, on occasion done my light lecture (no pun intended) on BART rides). It's so unsafe."

I especially love the combo: no lights, no helmet, dark clothing, maybe an i-pod for fun.

Primavera ride was great. I got off to a late start. I arrived, started to take the bike down...no helmet. I have 3 helmets, you think I'd keep one in the car...but nooooo.

Fortunately I live nearby, drove home picked up the helmet , since I'm not the Bike Goddess I decided to do the 70k.

Calaveras kicked my bu**, got off and walked the
first part of it. Should of had oatmeal for breakfast or Spazz's magic granola recipe but was fine from then on.

Leaving the second stop at Sunol headwinds kicked up but funny, I felt strong then. I left Sunol with a member of Valley Cyclists and we just fell in together and she drafted off me some. Since I'm not real comfy with drafting yet, we had the delightful combo of hills AND headwinds through Niles canyon
so mostly I pulled her. All in all a great ride. Nice to be reminded how gorgeous it is here.

Calories Burned: ????
Calories Eaten: ????

[Melody]

*sigh* I really wished we could have finished.

Hubby and I got up early so we could have the most amount of time to try to finish the ride. Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ passed us, but I wasn't worried. My goal was to try to finish, not be first. However, after the first rest stop, after resting for about 45 minutes, we went about 100-150 feet and Neil (hubby) said "No. We're not going to continue and I'm not going to let you hurt yourself."

We went back to the first rest stop, but unfortunately, all of the SAG vehicles had already left. One of the hams contacted net control to see if we could get a ride up to the second rest stop, but they said that that wasn't possible. They could give us a ride back to start, but not to the second stop.

Instead of having someone come and get us, we decided to ride back down back to start. Oi, was that tough. I ended up just being able to make it to McDonald's over by 680 and Mission. Neil went on ahead and got the car and drove us back to the start so we could check in and let them know that we were ok.

We then had some of the yummy lasagna lunch.

I'm pretty disappointed that I couldn't finish, but it wasn't really a surprise. Neil hadn't realized how steep Calaveras was, otherwise he'd never have suggested doing the ride. I do feel accomplished at what I was able to do, though I am sore today. I enjoyed the ride immensely, even the crying I did just before McDonalds cause I was hurting so much.

Next year though! I'm determined. Time to start doing intervals.

Oh. According to my HR monitor when I glanced at it, 32 and change mileage and 1600 feet of climbing. This was 8 times more mileage than I have _ever_ done.

Slow as Melasses

[jobob]

Oh. According to my HR monitor when I glanced at it, 32 and change mileage and 1600 feet of climbing. This was 8 times more mileage than I have _ever_ done.

Mel, don't beat yourself up for not finishing, that was a super effort!

Although, Jobob Mother Hen is going to scold you just a little bit for not *building up* to such a strenuous ride - that's a sure way to hurt yourself, girlfriend !!! [waggs finger] OK enough of that.

I think Mel should be next in line for the She-Ra Princess of Power tiara , once AG is through with it (AG, darlin', do try to get most of the mud off it first ...)

Neil hadn't realized how steep Calaveras was

I suppose you all know now why that hill is (sometimes) affectionately referrred to as The Wall
If melissam is lurking about here maybe she'll share her Wall story ... it wasn't pretty

[Veronica]

Wow! Melody. Kudos to you for trying something new and NOT giving up. That's a huge jump in mileage - and lots more time in the saddle. No matter how comfortable your saddle is, your butt still needs to get used to being on it for a long time.

Going to ride today?

V.

[aka_kim]

I think Mel should be next in line for the She-Ra Princess of Power tiara

I agree! 8x your previous longest ride?! And Calaveras is a hard climb. Good job!

[slinkedog]

Melody... good for you for trying your hardest! Just keep getting out there and increasing your mileage a little bit at a time. Don't kill yourself!!

[Adventure Girl]

I think Mel should be next in line for the She-Ra Princess of Power tiara , once AG is through with it (AG, darlin', do try to get most of the mud off it first ...)

This tiara should be passed along to all deserving princesses! I'm honored to have worn it for a short time, but I gladly relinquish the tiara and all it's powers to Mel! Good job!

She-Ra!!

[SadieKate]

We're at 9:48.
V.

You guys look so cute! I didn't know Thom owned spandex!

Congrats to everyone on a good job: cruisin' fast, pulling the pace line, increasing distance, conquering hills. THAT is what it is all about - your own personal victories. Stay focused on your accomplishments!

Way to go, girls!

[CorsairMac]

Job well done She-Ra aka Mel!.....you went out there and rode!! That right there is the most important accomplishment of the day!.....anything after that was just diamonds on your She-Ra tiara! and I agree - today is AG's tiara day - tomorrow is Mels!!

[Trek420]

Wow Mel, 8x your previous PR, I'm speachless which is unusual for me.

Good job, and kudos to your hubby for reeling you in and taking care of you.

With that determination and a program from your TE buds there's no telling what you'll be able to do next year.

[Melody]

Mel, don't beat yourself up for not finishing, that was a super effort!

Trying not to, but I admit I can be competitive and I tend to beat myself up over these sort of things. Comes from playing tennis for so long. :P Only person you can blame is yourself. :P

Although, Jobob Mother Hen is going to scold you just a little bit for not *building up* to such a strenuous ride - that's a sure way to hurt yourself, girlfriend !!! [waggs finger] OK enough of that.

Well... I tried building up to it, but it was a very sudden ride. I was at home sick when the hubby suggested it and I said "sure, why not?" Then it took several more days before I could ride more than about 10 miles, and then that weekend we rode 44 miles from Mtn View to Milpitas, then had to recover a few days after that, etc. etc. I had first suggested we do the 25 mile ride, but he said "You can do the 70!" I should have gone with my first instinct.

I think Mel should be next in line for the She-Ra Princess of Power tiara , once AG is through with it (AG, darlin', do try to get most of the mud off it first ...)

heh. I still have my tiara from my wedding. It's currently sitting on top of one of the speakers of our entertainment center.

I suppose you all know now why that hill is (sometimes) affectionately referrred to as The Wall
If melissam is lurking about here maybe she'll share her Wall story ... it wasn't pretty

hehehehe. Neil was hoping the initial 1.6 miles up Calaveras was the wall. The look on his face when he found out it was was very much

Mel

[Melody]

Thanks everyone. Just to note, it wasn't 8x my mileage. I've done 45 miles before, but it was 8x the climbing I've ever done. I am not a good climber. This means I get to go do intervals on the weekends.

I didn't ride yesterday and today. I'm recovering from all of that climbing. It looks like I pulled a groin muscle, so I'm letting that recover before getting back on the bike, even for the short commute to/from work.

But, I'll be back on the bike tomorrow for my commute.

Oh yeah, we also ordered a trainer. I went to mtbr.com and looked at various reviews and got the 2004 mtbr.com winner. It was $300.00, but it seems most people really liked it. Plus, this will let me do a recovery ride at home that is truly flat and not push it too hard.

Mel

[Veronica]

You and your hubby are welcome to join us on Sunday. I know Mt. Diablo sounds scary and like a crazy idea. But the south side is easier and any time you decide you're done - it's all downhill or flat back to the car. Nothing on the south side of Diablo is as steep as Calaveras. And there are good places for lunch in Danville. Slinkedog should come to. I know you have other commitments, but you're all always welcome.

V.

[SadieKate]

Mel and Slinke - you should come! I was intimidated because it is so flat here in Tomatoland. Everyone encouraged me so I went. Now I'm actually looking forward to riding it. One of the things that is so good about the ride up Diablo is that because we're on this long, long hill, everybody rides at their own pace. There is no pressure to ride anyone else's pace. You can't get lost. You just ride until you feel like you've had enough. Thom is really good at blathering at you so you'll be distracted. There are plenty of places where you may decide to take a break and enjoy the scenery.

Now's the time to do it before it gets hot. Come on up!

SK