April 5 rides

[Fredwina]

63.39
It's been cloudy all day as matter of fact. its only 70 degrees
My first time doing the mega-mondo climb up baldy Road with Bleu. Climbs about as well as the cannondale.
After an appropriate for my fellow club members to ogle the new bike, I pedaled up to Glen Helene, then headed home

[makbike]

Joined the club for their "slow and easy" ride. It is not one of my favorites simply because it travels through the city and traffic is always an issue. However, it felt good to be on my bike and I enjoyed riding with my cycling buddies. In the end I logged 30 miles at a slow and easy pace of 13.5 mph. Tomorrow's club ride will be faster and more challenging - I'm looking forward to it!

[redrhodie]

Wasn't going to ride today. The forecast was rain, so I went to Pilates this morning to do some core work. Then, called my bro for a walk on the beach. Had lunch, then a nap. Woke up, still no rain. Pumped up the tires and off I went. Lovely temps, lots of roadies out, and a good wind made the beaches crowded with surfers. Saw a family of goats in the middle of the road, but their person managed to convince them to head home before I reached them. All in all, a fun day.

[Triskeliongirl]

Did the club ride this morning. Great day, although much chillier at the start than expected for a start in south texas in spring time, 46! But it was in the high 60s by the end, and in fact our high today was 80! But it did feel cold to start. I wore tights and a long sleeve jersey, my PI gavia jacket, ibex glove liners and an earband. I was cold for the first five miles, and then I pulled the glove liners and ear band off by mile 15. I pulled the jacket off at mile 20. I was worried I ruined the jacket, since I tried to tie it around my top tube but instead it got dragged across my drive train, so ended up with a huge grease stain on that baby blue fabric. Fortunatly the stain came out with some shout. Ended up with a fast and hilly 34 miles. Felt great to be out since I'd been pretty busy with work stuff lately.

[BeeLady]

I rode in the Cuero annual Wildflower Ride and it was a lovely, non-taxing 23-mile ride. Quite cool at the beginning but had my wind breaker off by the end of the ride.

Lots of flowers this year and everything is nice and green. My ride only included a few hills. I made the short ride because it went right past my house and I couldn't resist. Next year I'll do one of the longer rides as I know where those routes go also and it is quite scenic and worth climbing the big hills. We are in the Post Oak Savannah in Texas and I love the scenery around here.

Have a nice, hilly 25-loop near my home I haven't done this year yet but I'm looking forward to that. I need another bike! Carrying my beloved Volpe between here and San Antonio is just too much. I'm sure no one could blame me for getting a second bike!

[OakLeaf]

Taught Pilates this morning, subbing for the regular instructor who has the awful cold I'm trying not to catch. I am SO not qualified to teach Pilates... but I hope that at least knowing that makes me more qualified than some of the instructors out there... Anyhow.

Rode the commuter bike to the gym and the grocery store and back. Came home, dithered a little. Then I put the new Lithia saddle on my road bike. Got on, rode to the end of the block, turned around and came home - it's so much taller than my old saddle that I had to drop the seatpost by 5 mm. Did the adjustment and went out again.

Wow, what a difference! I'm not 100% sure I'm going to keep it, but it's a HUGE step in the right direction. The T-shape makes as much difference as the wider seat. Thanks to everyone who's contributed saddle advice! It's changed my whole riding position. At a minimum I'm going to need to change my handlebar position and/or raise the stem, and once I come to a definite saddle decision I'll probably go for a fitting.

Anyway, I hadn't originally planned on riding today because there was rain in the forecast. Late this morning they stopped calling for a chance of rain, and that's when I took the bike out (I'm a total rain wuss, besides I had an excuse since I may want to return the saddle ). Nice and slow and easy, although there was a pretty stiff wind. I did the southern half of our usual loop, and when I crossed over the center road, there were a few sprinkles, so I took the next opportunity to head back home rather than doing the north half. Not quite 30 miles. It wasn't an hour before the weather radio was going off with severe thunderstorms.

[7rider]

DivingBiker and I joined 5 other women from MORE's RLAG (Ride Like a Girl) Series for a 19.5 mile mini-sufferfest up and down mountains around Gambrill State Park. Roads were a combination of asphalt, gravel, and mud. "Unimproved" was the term, I think. It was a time to call in DH's Big Buzz bike with knobbie 32 cyclcocross tires. It was supposed to rain but the rain held off...and weather-wise, it was actually quite pleasant.

[F8th637]

Wasn't planning on riding today either since it was suppose to rain but wouldn't you know it's a beautiful day and the rain is moving in tonight. DH said he was thinking of riding and so I said I'd go with him. We rode around for a ride time of 80 minutes and did about 16 miles. We did a little on the W&OD trail and then went riding around one of the neighborhoods we are thinking of buying our first home in and then rode in subsequent neighborhoods very leisurely. Then we stopped at the local Whole Foods to pick up some things for dinner and then it was back up the hill we live on with our groceries. Great ride and absolutely beautiful!

[redrhodie]

Taught Pilates this morning, subbing for the regular instructor who has the awful cold I'm trying not to catch. I am SO not qualified to teach Pilates... but I hope that at least knowing that makes me more qualified than some of the instructors out there... Anyhow.

You've hit the nail on the head with the issue I have with the class I went to this morning. The teacher is really sweet, and a good yoga teacher, but this class was not Pilates. I suspect she's not trained by an accredited studio. Do you think this is common?

[Beane]

Did our usual 25 mile out-n-back, but alone (usually have DH to draft off), and the wind going out was nightmarish. It was a challenge but man the return trip was awesome. Easily cruising at twice my speed on the first half. This was my second real outdoor ride with my new bike and I must say, I LOVE it. This bike rocks. I was worried about it being too big, but it's just fine. Now I just need a new saddle...

i LOOOOOOOOOOOVE steel!

p.s. 63 and sunny... pretty nice (we here in wisconsin have earned a nice spring)

[OakLeaf]

You've hit the nail on the head with the issue I have with the class I went to this morning. The teacher is really sweet, and a good yoga teacher, but this class was not Pilates. I suspect she's not trained by an accredited studio. Do you think this is common?

It's extremely common. In a gym setting, with the exception of large urban gyms that have a pool of local instructors to draw on, responding to the demand for Pilates classes has meant getting some minimal training for their existing pool of fitness instructors. My "certification" comes from a two-day workshop, the same as the other instructors at my gym in Ohio. The instructor I subbed for today got her certification by a correspondence course. In small towns where there are two or three gyms and no standalone Pilates studios, it's not cost-effective for even one instructor to go to the time and expense of a 100 or 200 hour course. Occasionally you'll find a yoga instructor with 200-hour certification, but I think that's because the spiritual aspects of yoga draw people to do it for love, with no expectation that it will pay for itself.