April 20th rides

[redrhodie]

Just the highlights: Lots of riders out, and I didn't get passed! I passed a guy on a road bike, climbing a hill. I rule!

[redrhodie]

Okay, I'll fess up. The guy on the road bike was, like, 80 .

[SlowButSteady]

My highlights: almost got hit by a car. I don't know how I didn't fall. Divine intervention or something.

But hey, I rode a long way and the rest was fun.

[Popoki_Nui]

Okay, I'll fess up. The guy on the road bike was, like, 80 .

rofl. I hate it when that happens! Last weekend two senior-type gentlemen on MTB's blew by me like I was in reverse.

Sunny and warm here today...big change from yesterday's snow! I was going to ride...I even got a bike out and prepped to ride. But instead I mowed the back lawn and the grass in the cat-run, and spent the day in the cat-run with my cats, reading old magazines and making much-needed vitamin D.

[CindyVA]

It rained buckets all day here in the DC area. No ride for me.

Cindy

[Fredwina]

since some folks have complained about our women's ride bee to "begginerish". I scout out out a route for more accomplished folks. I would have done the ride with the begginers, but got a call that blue was ready to be picked after the 30 day tune up.

[sundial]

I did just a smidgen under 20 miles. I could have ridden more but everyone was pooped out and needed to get back home. It was sunny, in the high 60's, and slightly breezy.

[MALcontent]

Today I took a great women's road riding and racing clinic with Nicole Freedman, former Olympian and two-time national champion. Forty of us of various experience and ages worked on lots of different skills. My favorite was practicing staying up during contact with other cyclists. We rode in a circle and the contest was to be the last one remaining on her bike. We had to keep our hands and feet on the bike at all times. Holy cow did this appeal to my competitive nature! I immediately started bumping into people. They were initially quite taken aback, but soon most people got into the spirit. I cut the obvious novices some slack. And I'm sad to report I wasn't the last one "standing." A couple of riders came up short ahead of me and I popped off my bike. The other skill I progressed on a lot was cornering. If you ever have a chance to take a clinic with Nicole, do!

[Triskeliongirl]

Today was our first century of the season, the Wildflower which is part of San Antonio's annual fiesta celebration. I planned to do the metric, since I still didn't have a lot of recent mileage under my belt, but they had to make some last minute route changes due to construction so I ended up with 72 miles. I felt great, my blood sugars were in a great range without eating any carbs (an issue for me since I have impaired glucose tolerance), and my time was excellent for me, especially given that it is a hilly and windy course. While I wasn't out there with the fastest men, my peer group were young and middle aged fit looking men (and women) which always feels good. As soon as I got home, I had to make a BBQ for some friends we invited over. We were frazzled at first, but everyone had a great time and now I am gonna collapse!

[K8sgotgame]

I did a nice little 18 mile beach ride. It was good, but slow because my roommate insisted on roller blading so I kept jumping ahead of him and then waiting... or pulling him He took a short cut on the way back on our loop so I got about 6 miles without him which were good.

[chicago]

Beeauuuuuuuuuuuuuutiful day in Chicago today! Did my first invitational, well it was my bike club's invitational... still my first for 2008... so I worked registration and then we all rode. Ended up with 60mls... route was 68, but some were tired, so we cut it short... but nevertheless, great day today

[Melalvai]

My husband dragged me kicking & screaming to my 16 yr high school reunion. 23 people in my graduating class, 9 attended, I walked in and did not recognize anyone. That was a shock.

When we got home from that trip, my husband agreed to a short bike ride. I hoped for a 30 min ride but was disappointed. He was ready to turn around at 1.7 miles. I'm trying so hard to be cheerful and encouraging about the almost 4 miles we rode today. But I feel very whiny and frustrated!!

Actually his lack of riding fitness is seriously the very least of my problems right now. Prospective unemployment and homelessness still looming over me...

[Geonz]

Hang in there... hang in there. Soon as I get my squatters out you can move in to my house :-)

I rode to church... then grabbed plastic sheeting and some bricks and went over to my house to spread it over the creeping charlie invasion (bricks down low in the bags made for that "gravity juju" and fun travel). Then out to the show and go on the red bike goin' fast as I could... figured that would give me a good workout, YES. Then we charged into the 15 mph winds to St. Boniface and came back... and my green friend had called and met me out there and we spent a mile pickin' up cans and figuring out logistics for working that into rides.
Then pushed a *bit* on the ride back home to put the orange cast-iron pump handle (I *think*) that I'd picked up with the cans, since I knew it didn't weigh any more than the bricks, on top of that plastic sheet. Then reasonably fast ride out to Panera wishing I had taken the folder because dang it, them potholes hadn't moved since earlier in the day. THen back home - but pausing at the burned out house where there was a crowd gathered... and JOhn from the bike hsop was there and told me it was "site specific dance" (and he said they'd scrubbed the carpets all day at the LBS so I should say something to FPTRNT about them :P Sioux likes that it is assumed we will talk :-) ) and some people asked about the Xtra and there were like 8 bikes parked around by the time I left.
49.79 miles (But I was already out later enough than expected so I didn't do 50 ).

[KnottedYet]

Two miles! Yeah, baby, I'm a stud!
(ran an errand during a sunny break between the snow and hail flurries)

[melissam]

I did an AIDS/Lifecycle training ride today. My goal was to see what it would be like to ride 75 miles after riding a pretty hilly century yesterday -- kind of an abbreviated dress rehearsal for June.

For the first part of the route, I began to suspect that someone had substituted two lead pipes for my legs. Fortunately once I warmed up, it got better, which bodes very well for June.

Here's a pic from our lunch stop in Woodside: