August 20 Ride Reports

[HillSlugger]

Not the Ride I had Planned!

I set out this morning with my route slip for a 27 mile ride but it's not what I ended up doing...

0 miles: can't get into a comfortable rhythm, maybe it's because I'm starting off into a head wind
5 miles: still no comfortable rhythm, just grinding away
9 miles: made a wrong turn but didn't know it yet
10.4 miles: this intersection isn't supposed to be on this route! I must be off route! What do I do now, try to continue on to something I know or turn around...OK, let's keep going...no, that's stupid, turn around...where'd that big hill come from?!?...panic downshift...dropped the chain...fall! No pain or injury except to my pride. After a rest to regroup I headed back towards what I knew.
12.6 miles: Oh, I was supposed to continue straight where I turned! Now, back to my intended route or back track towards home? OK, continue on...
13.5 miles: this is stupid, turn back, you'll never do the intended route plus an additional 2.5 miles in your addled state!
14.0 miles: I know this road, it'll cut through to my intended leg back in...let's take that!
14-19 miles: just grinding away, no rhythm, I can't wait until to get back in...
20 miles: damn, they repaved this road since last week with a new layer of gravel, this is hell!
22 miles: glad to be back on smooth road
22-25 miles just grinding away
26 miles: destination in site!

All in all it was a lousy ride, but I still managed to grind out 16 miles at a 13.3mph average. Not too shabby.

[Dr. Liz]

34 miles at a 16.2 mph average - essentially the exact same ride as yesterday but it was much windier, and we were riding with our friend Crazy Harold (it's okay, he knows I call him that!). He's this amazing athlete (you know, great at everything, negative body fat, the whole thing), and rides with us when he's doing his recovery rides (he has been known to check his email on his Blackberry while riding with us...). As always, it was a ball riding with him. Sports are his passion, and he's always got the best of everything. (And 5 of them - he's got a high end bike for every possible riding possibility.) Today he was testing out his Waterford touring bike. Oh so nice!

But the best part?!? Crazy Harold is basically my size, and so he offered that if I get some Speed Play cleats, he'll let me test his bikes. Hah! We are talking like $7000 road bikes. (Of course, I'll have to make sure I can get in and out of the pedals before I try his bikes!) So I'm going on eBay to see if I can find a new pair of cleats. Oh yeah - expensive bike testing, here I come!!!

Of course, I'll probably be spoiled, once I've tried out his bikes, but it'll give me something to save my pennies for!

[makbike]

I took the Giro out for a spin today and boy did I shock myself. Up to this point my average speed on this bike has been hanging around 14.5 mph or so. Last night I took it out on a club ride and only average 13.7 but then again this was a ride filled with unusual circumstances and events so I was not upset with what I ended up with when I parked my bike.

Today's ride was 22 miles long a mix of flat and gently rolling hills. I quickly settled into a nice spin and what a difference it made. I found myself zipping along and actually climbing some of the hills as if I was atop my little blue bike. In the end I ended up with an average speed of 15.8 and I'm thinking maybe I'm no longer a "slug" on my new recumbent. Just maybe I'm getting the hang of this bike, I sure hope so for I do enjoy riding it just have not enjoyed the slow pace I've stuck since I acquired this bike. I guess there is hope!

[btchance]

I did an easy 16mi recovery ride, just went out and relaxed while I was out there. Nothing exciting happened, just me and my bike, which is sometimes the best thing going.

[Kitsune06]

Tomorrow is DGF's b-day, and it's impossible to hide anything in this house, so I had to go out *today* to pick everything up. I hop on my bike w/ backpack and waterbottle, noting that I'm pretty sure my butt's going to dimple before that Brooks saddle ever does but perservere. I make it to the store, pick out a rather expensive '02 champagne and oj (mimosas!) and a dozen roses. Because I left in a flurry, I really hadn't thought about how I was going to get them home, but the wine and juice fit well in the bag, the roses' stems fit in fine, but the flowers themselves protruded 2-3" from the top. It looked pretty, though, and was secure, so I took off. Lots of comments on a bicyclist with roses sticking out the back of her bag!
Had a gent on a green Bianchi coast up behind me and say "Nice flowers!" before I saw him. I said "Wow! Nice bike!" (it WAS pretty nice...) he smiled and coasted on w/o any effort. (hills!) Got home, put more dressing on the saddle and arnica on my bum (any hints on arnica on sitbones) and put everything away. Long story short, 7 miles, all hills, with 4 of them being gravel.

[Cassandra_Cain]

After some back and forth moments (rain? no rain? darnit, let's ride!), I had a lovely 31 mile ride. Rode some of the bike paths, along the rio grande, through the university and finally back home.

Best of all I got to ride with one of neat folks from this board, Ms. Corsairmac herself

[KnottedYet]

Rode 12 miles in the Danskin triathlon. It was a huge amount of fun. I was singing and hollering and cheering. Made a song out of "Passing on your left". Sang it a lot. Hollered "Thank you" to most of the volunteers on the course. Huge fun! Averaged 15.2 mph, which is very high for me.