Mar 7 rides

[TrekTheKaty]

It's the first 60-degree weekend in St. Louis! After a slow cycling summer last year (work was crazy, while hubby did 4 centuries) I was ready to GO! Hubby headed out from house and I met him at the trailhead. Good news--we got to go ride! Bad news--the trail was in bad shape from a harsh winter. But I did 15 miles and I'm officially in training for the season opening Tour de Stooges on May 1!

[makbike]

The sun was out in force today and though the thermometer said it was in the mid-50s it was chilly. I got chilled early on and after 34 miles I parked the bike in the garage and headed inside. Hopefully next weekend it will be warmer.

[Crankin]

After yesterday's painful short, hilly ride, we decided to test out the ride we are leading on 4/10. Since we left from our house and not the meeting place, we did a total of 37.6 miles. It was a gorgeous day, again, and despite the fact I was zonked at the end of the ride, I felt pretty good. DH and I made a pact to go slowly and even if we felt good, we would not go ahead.
I am happy with the ride I planned (I do the planning, while he makes the actual cue sheets); it's mostly flat and rolling, with one longer climb that is a little painful at this time of the year and a couple of short climbs. It will be 30 miles, total.
Took a detour through our old neighborhood on the way back. There is so much sand on one of the streets in the development, it was like riding on a beach!
I didn't time my nutrition quite right, since we had a brunch type breakfast at 9:30 and we left around 12:30. I ate half a Luna bar at mile 12 and the rest at mile 18. By mile 25, I was feeling it and I did not want to stop anywhere, I just wanted to get home. But, I was able to stop the negative voices telling me to quit right there, and I actually went ahead of DH on the torturous climb up my street and driveway (where I saw 3.9 on my computer for the first time ever, at the crest of my driveway, where it's 15%)

[7rider]

Big family reunion today. That is, the Sunday Shop Ride officially went off for the first time in....well, a loooong time. Blizzards, 3 feet (1 m) of snow, crappy weekend weather....all conspired to keep the shop ride in hold-status. But today was sunny, mild, and generally a gorgeous Spring day.
I met a few others early at a different location (not the shop) and did the C-ride. We took it easy. The main group caught us fairly quickly, but we had one who was sick, another who hurt her hip running, another who busted a rear derailleur cable and was riding his bike as single speed, and others who just generally hadn't been out in a while. We took every short cut we could find!
Today's ride really was miles different from yesterday's torture-fest with DH. Not the he was brutal to me or the ride was that much harder (well, it was hillier and windier), but riding with a half dozen others, chit-chattting while moving (DH is a silent rider), made everything much better. Yeah, it wasn't a real challenge....but that's not what I needed today. I needed a FUN ride to put me in a HAPPY bike frame of mind. And that's what I got and it worked.
Yay, bikes.

[owlice]

I got in 13.5 miles on my favorite trail today; I'd ridden it yesterday, starting in the middle to see whether the snow that had blocked me last weekend was gone. It was! So today I rode from one end to the other, around the lake a couple of times, along another short trail, not quickly, spinning more than pushing, and had a grand grand time! Lots of people on the trail, especially at the lake, walking dogs, children, grandparents in wheelchairs, people on scooters and skates and skateboards and even bicycles.

AND!!! AND!!! I passed TWO PEOPLE, and neither one of them had training wheels on his/her bike!!!!

[shootingstar]

38 kms., with very occasional rain spit..then it got steady by the time I got home.

I'm happy.

[mudmucker]

Wheeeee! I am back on the bike. I did my first road ride after cancer. Surgery was Dec. 30. During the bleak days of recovery all I wanted to do is be back on the bike. A very long down time with no xc skiing or running this winter so I kept it to a very very slow 8 miles for my first time out. No pain. Legs felt great. Standing in the pedals felt great. Huffed and puffed on the hills. Still 10 lbs down so I need to bulk up. I'm a real pipsqueak right now. This ride was so meaningful and such a perfect metaphor; with the hope and promise of spring follow warm days with new life.

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty miles before you know it.

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