JUNE 21 Saturday rides

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well, I finally was able to pedal the entire way up the difficult hills of my dreaded "Rte SEVEN to Harlemville" ride. Previously I have had to get off and walk some of the way of the steepest parts.
It was very hard for me and my breathing was labored (I sounded pretty awful, gasping and heaving!), but.....I rode it all the way today for the first time without walking! What I was happy about is that my legs seemed fine with all the climbing- not burning or giving out at all. It was my lungs that were having a hard time getting me enough oxygen. I couldn't seem to breathe hard enough or fast enough. (My long ago nasty past of smoking and pneumonia catching up with me. )
I know others here ride both less and more difficult hilly rides, but this is a tough one for me, it's not a long ride, but the hills are pretty tough and crammed into a short section for this old gal. I still can't believe I made it this time.
Here it is:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...m/477049180435
The ride back home was great though- lots of fast long descents.

[dingster1]

Great! Someday when I''m big and strong, I'll be able to do hills too!

[Crankin]

Good work, Lisa. Believe me, from the rides I've done in the Berkshires, I know that some of those climbs are nasty. Now, do I have to ride up that hill to get to your house from Gt. Barrington???

Today we rode to Dairy Joy in Weston, ate soft serve ice cream with chocolate dip and then took a slightly longer route home. A real nourishing lunch topped off by a Luna Bar. We took the longer way home because I couldn't face going back on the road by Walden Pond again. There is tons of traffic, people crossing the road to get to the beach, and lots of cyclists. On the way there, we got caught up in a group training for the Pan Mass Challenge, at the light crossing the highway. We managed to get to the front of the group, but got stuck behind the leader for a way until it was safe to pass him. On the way home, as we were nearing Concord Center, we were passed by a tri-athlete who was questioning me about my bike, but not paying attention to the traffic (there is lots of traffic and a lot of tourists who are confused). She was really squirrelly as we were merging into the lane, squeezing right and I couldn't wait to get away from her!

23 miles, 15.7 average (16.2 until I got to my street ).

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Good work, Lisa. Believe me, from the rides I've done in the Berkshires, I know that some of those climbs are nasty. Now, do I have to ride up that hill to get to your house from Gt. Barrington???

No! Don't worry, the 52 mile ride back and forth from Gr.Barrington to our house and back has long low hills- much more do-able and spread out.
We'll work out the details as the time gets closer. Here is the Great Barrington round trip, but starting from our house:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...atham/47978163
Can you see this ride online?

[Fredwina]

I did the club ride and rode it's too hot for much else. 41 miles

[OakLeaf]

Most of the club ride today. A whole lot of riders set out with us in the morning - I didn't count but it had to be at least 30-40. It's one of the club's most popular rides and I think their hilliest if you do the whole thing. There was a 40 mile option and a 70, with a couple of alternatives for the 70. I wasn't sure if I was up for 70, but I was tired of not challenging myself, I felt much better than I had on Wednesday night, and I know the area well enough that I could find an alternate way back if needed. So even though the two riders I found myself with when I got to the split were taking the 40-mile route, I headed for the long way.

It was a beautiful day, sunny, light winds, 64F when we set out and warming to 82 by the end of the ride. The route was lovely, almost no traffic, most of the roads in very good condition, winding through woodlands and farmlands.

Lunch was at a convenient store 31 miles in. Mmmm, tuna fish sandwich and Powerade. I know it's not for everyone's stomach, but I do so much better on longer rides if I can grab some protein along the way - tuna salad or egg salad, usually. Today I even got a real store-made sandwich, not those scary ones in the sealed plastic packages you often find in convenient stores.

At the lunch stop I met up with a few people from our Wednesday night ride. One of them was looking for a way to cut a few miles off the remainder of the route. From where we were, there weren't a whole lot of options (he wanted to be back in 25 miles, but that just wasn't possible - it's at least that far in a car on the main highways). But I knew a way that would be a little shorter and a lot flatter (in fact it goes right by my house), and I didn't need much persuading to take it a little bit easier for the rest of the day. So we continued along the club route for about 9 more miles and then cut off - me, the Wednesday night ride leader, and a friend of his who's a very strong rider but happy to tag along.

By the end of the ride both of the boys were complaining about their butts. I am SOOOOO glad for the advice I got on this forum, and for finding a saddle that works for me on my first informed try! And one of them was very tired - he's strong but big, so the hills wear him out, plus he hadn't done a ride over 40 miles yet this year. But we made it back - just cruising the last few miles. I feel surprisingly fresh and I'm thinking I might ride with some other friends who're planning a 40-miler tomorrow morning.

64.9 miles, 4457 feet of climbing, moving average 14.4 mph, I'm happy

[sundial]

It was very hard for me and my breathing was labored (I sounded pretty awful, gasping and heaving!), but.....I rode it all the way today for the first time without walking!

That's fantastic!! You must really have a sense of accomplishment.

I rode 70.2 miles today. Woot woot!

[Mr. Bloom]

Well, I finally was able to pedal the entire way up the difficult hills of my dreaded "Rte SEVEN to Harlemville" ride.

Lisa, that's great. Cool website too! Looks like you had fun at 5.5 miles!


I did a Metric today. First 19 miles was coaching a few from Silver's Triathlon class.

The balance was will Silver and a couple of friends training for the Ironman that we actually picked up on our second loop and decided to go somewhere new to me. Average overall was 16.7mph, but in the non-coaching mode, it was 17.1mph which is the pace I'm targeting for RaIN next month (wind permitting...).

Our weather was close to perfect!

Great! Someday when I''m big and strong, I'll be able to do hills too!

It won't be long...I can tell you've got the determination!

[Mr. SR500]

Lisa, that's great. Cool website too! Looks like you had fun at 5.5 miles!


I did a Metric today. First 19 miles was coaching a few from Silver's Triathlon class.

The balance was will Silver and a couple of friends training for the Ironman that we actually picked up on our second loop and decided to go somewhere new to me. Average overall was 16.7mph, but in the non-coaching mode, it was 17.1mph which is the pace I'm targeting for RaIN next month (wind permitting...).

Our weather was close to perfect!


It won't be long...I can tell you've got the determination!

Mr. S,

You are killing me getting all these long rides in, I don't when I'll be able to even get a century before RAIN. You'll be amazed at the speed especially at the start, we were rolling 25+ last year at the beginning. The long flat hills got me out of Terra Haute, I hope to hang on to the main group longer this year. There are so many people and huge pacelines it's easy to maintain a good average, if you get in a bad group - find another. It's getting close!