May 17th Rides!

[Fredwina]

since it was supposed to be hot, I decided to get started at 6am.
Things went well at first. I went to the rail trail , then went up to Duncan canyon road.

I ran into one of my friends cycling down baseline. Her DH was driving their truck to the ride in case it got too hot.
I was debating which ride I to do I decided to do the ling one, which turned out to be the wrong one. There's a wildfire burning, and in between the ash and the heat, it was on miserable slog up Mt Baldy road
Copters picking up water at San Antonio Dam:

Same sign as last weekwish we still had the clouds)

I made it back for the social session, and then wen to pick my new eyeglasses. I also stopped at REI and got some stuff. I almost got some more water, and should have. since I ran out at mile 51(despite having a 70 oz. camelbak)
So I stopped at a c-store and got some more. Good thing since when I got home , it was 109 at noon.
So I took a nap for an hour with a fan on to cool off, and I'm still tryinng to rehydrate.
Maybe I should cut back: 62 miles

[kelownagirl]

I test rode a Madone this morning - does that count? I loved it! They only had the 4.7 in my size but it was great. I wish I'd had my Garmin with me so I could see my speed though. I did come close to losing control and wiping out coming down a long hill though > I don't know if it was "driver error", my bad eyes, difference between the Madone and my own bike (maybe I was going way faster than I thought?), or just a fluke but it scared the crap out of me. Luckily I didn't panic (on the outside) and carefully braked, regained control, and gently led it away from the curb. Aaaack! My little heart was going pitter patter!

So. Now to decide. Do I pay the extra $150 for the 5.1 which they can bring in within the week, or stick with the 4.7? The Ruby is another $500 and I don't like the colour so that's out.

Anyway, probably not the right place to post this but that was ride for today.

[Fredwina]

sound like to me the question is whether you can afford the extra $150.
The only thing I noticed is that 4.7 uses a different carbon than the 5.1 ))my understanding TCT=China OCLV=Wisconsin, if you care about such things), so they may ride a little different...

[mimitabby]

First I rode to the co-op and bought bread.

Then I left home again and went to BikeWorks (where Kent Peterson now is employed) and ordered some lovely Basil Blossom panniers. color pink & orange. teehee. no they're not waterproof, but if the weather's that bad i probably don't want to go out in it and if i have to; i can use Raleighdon's Ortlieb heavy duty waterproof ones.

15 miles in HOT SUN (what is that?!?)

[Zen]

May 17th ride. The less said the better.

Pacific Electric Railway. What happened to it?
General Motors, that's what happened. What a shame.
Who Killed The Electric Car

[kelownagirl]

sound like to me the question is whether you can afford the extra $150.
The only thing I noticed is that 4.7 uses a different carbon than the 5.1 ))my understanding TCT=China OCLV=Wisconsin, if you care about such things), so they may ride a little different...

I can afford the extra $150. I had been planning on buying the Ruby which was $600 more. From where I stand, both carbons are made 'out-of-the-country'. LOL. The LBS guy says there's not real quality difference between the two, just a 'social' difference as far as what the people who put it together are being paid. I'm not saying that's not important to me but for the most part, it's becoming a colour issue.

[Beane]

I can afford the extra $150. I had been planning on buying the Ruby which was $600 more. From where I stand, both carbons are made 'out-of-the-country'. LOL. The LBS guy says there's not real quality difference between the two, just a 'social' difference as far as what the people who put it together are being paid. I'm not saying that's not important to me but for the most part, it's becoming a colour issue.

I think that when you're in the $3000 range, $150 isn't much (only about 5%). IMO, the OCLV is worth the extra. And it sounds like you really prefer the color of the 5.1...

[teawoman]

I test rode a Madone this morning - does that count? I loved it! They only had the 4.7 in my size but it was great. I wish I'd had my Garmin with me so I could see my speed though. I did come close to losing control and wiping out coming down a long hill though > I don't know if it was "driver error", my bad eyes, difference between the Madone and my own bike (maybe I was going way faster than I thought?), or just a fluke but it scared the crap out of me. Luckily I didn't panic (on the outside) and carefully braked, regained control, and gently led it away from the curb. Aaaack! My little heart was going pitter patter!

So. Now to decide. Do I pay the extra $150 for the 5.1 which they can bring in within the week, or stick with the 4.7? The Ruby is another $500 and I don't like the colour so that's out.

Anyway, probably not the right place to post this but that was ride for today.

I am glad you are closer to the new bike! I have done that before on a hill...very scary!

[Crankin]

I did 30 miles with 2300 feet of climbing. The weather was perfect. 75 degrees and sunny, although the wind was a bit strong in the beginning. Funny, this used to be my most challenging local ride (Groton/Dunstable from Littleton, including Lost Lake). Since moving to my hilly street, my perception has changed. Afterwards we went to Kimball Farms in Carlisle, where I had a raspberry frozen yogurt with chocolate chips in it.
Tomorrow we are doing a metric. I haven't ridden more than 52 miles since September 2006. I haven't really trained for this, but it's pretty flat and I find that the kind of hill riding I do pretty much allows me to go the distance as long as I moderate my speed a bit.

[kelownagirl]

Wow, congrats on everyone who did metrics and centuries this weekend!

I have my first metric of the season next weekend. DH wants to hammer it so it may not be a fun as it could be.

[OakLeaf]

See the thread about wind...

[Zen]

Fredwina- I just re-read your post.
You always have photos. I like that. Not just for me but because I think it says you aren't all about the miles and speed but you appreciate the scenery too.

Isn't it kind of early for wildfires?

[makbike]

The day started early, 7 a.m. The club hosted a ride from Louisville to Mammoth Cave and though I knew it would be challenging never could I have anticipated the major challenge which awaited the 37 riders who headed south.

It was a chilly start (50 F) and cloudy skies. A quick pace was set and the big group quickly split into several smaller groups. We followed the first part of the Old Kentucky Home Tour making our way up Lilly Pike and into the tiny town of Bloomfield. We then headed to Bardstown where we were greeted with some sunshine - jackets and arm/leg warmers began to come off.

Next stop was New Haven for a quick lunch and by this time it was very evident the winds were picking up and we would be facing a strong head wind for the duration. We continued on to Hodgenville (Birth place of Abe Lincoln) and on to Mundfordville. The winds were even stronger by the time we hit the 100 mile mark on our journey. We continued on to Horse Cave for a stop at the Dairy Queen. There were lots of tired faces the wind was even stronger - estimated to be close to 30 mph. It did not appear anyone was very eager to leave the Dairy Queen but we had yet to make our destination so back on bikes and we continued to pedal. At times the wind was unbelievably strong and riders were struggling to make their way up the hills we had to climb to make it to Mammoth Cave. At last we found ourselves in the tranquil setting of Mammoth Cave National Park and 37 exhausted by happy riders pulled up to the hotel where we had reserved a block of rooms.

A small party quickly developed on the lawn outside our rooms. Lots of laughing, teasing and happy faces were to be found amongst the group. A tasty dinner in the dining room and riders made their ways to their rooms for some well deserved shut eye. Alarms would ring early Sunday for the return trip!

In the end we logged 119.63 miles and fought some formidable winds. We passed through some absolutely beautiful countryside and enjoyed some great laughs and shared some strong words of encouragement. In the end it was a good day to be on a bike.

[shootingstar]

Beautiful, bright & hot. 24C.
Started off at 7:30 am did 43 kms. with a snack towards last 10 km., light grocery shopping. Then cycled off to a bike store..where saw nifty long-figured cycling gloves. So tempted to get them for myself..but geez, still have 2 brand-new pairs at home. But maybe another birthday gift for him.

glove has design motif with light reflective skeleton hand bones.
Then to another sporting goods store, bought a pair of walking shorts for cycling.


Went out later in day after skyping to dearie in Germany. Cycled another 12 kms. round trip to Japanese supermarket, for miso soup (yea, I know. I'm wierd but it's liquid even though hot) and their freshly made sushi.

and spent $11.00 on large packs of dried Japanese green tea noodles and buckwheat noodles. Oh well, should last for a few months.

total of 55 kms.

[Alex]

My first century of the year. 107 miles. The course was flatter than flat. Only 1441 feet of climbing. A perfect day! Felt strong right to the end, although I'll probably be asleep well before the sun goes down.

Alex