Newbie weekly achievement thread

[Roadtrip]

Not much to report here this week either. I have been battling a hip injury this week. Even walking has been painful. I don't think it was biking related as it started really hurting Tuesday and has continued to bark at me off and on. It's finally calmed down and last night we got out for a short 6 mile ride to test how I felt and was pain free. Rain here by the end of the day, so I'll get my cycling shut down for several days at least, at least until rain turns to snow!!

Shannon

[Roadtrip]

Wooo Hoooo.. Just had my weekly weigh in and down 2.6 pounds for the week and for the ten week weight loss challenge, down 10.4 pounds in six weeks.

[hebe]

Well done! I hope that you are fully recovered soon.

I took some 30c Arnica tablets for my ankle and it worked a charm, the limp was gone within a day. Looking forward to getting back on my bike next week!

[Bike Writer]

Wooo Hoooo.. down 2.6 pounds for the week and for the ten week weight loss challenge, down 10.4 pounds in six weeks.

Very nice! Feel better soon.

[Bike Writer]

Well done! I hope that you are fully recovered soon.

I took some 30c Arnica tablets for my ankle and it worked a charm, the limp was gone within a day. Looking forward to getting back on my bike next week!

Hebe, sorry to hear your ankle's been acting up. Get better soon because you'll be coming back with some pent up bike riding to do!

[hebe]

Thank you!

I made it out today, without falling off, so I think I'm over that last fall. I did the normal bridleway, though had to stop twice on the hill I guess that's what two weeks off the bike does to you. Then I followed the extension of the bridleway to its end - really beautiful in the sun with a canopy of autumn foliage. I came back on some country lanes. So about five miles, which feels a little disappointing, but the off-road riding always seems to feel longer than it is. A fly flew into my face on the way back, which really stung so I must have been going at least a little bit fast. I get so much joy and satisfaction from planning these rides as well as actually riding them, it's great to get the map out and work out my route.

I got back to find that I had somehow switched off my Garmin Dakota (in my saddle bag) so had no record of my ride I had been so looking forward to uploading my route and looking at the stats, so I worked it out on mapmyrun instead.

I've set a target of cycling 25miles in each of November and December, so 50miles before year end. I think this should be do-able with one ride most weeks and a couple of extra. I know that it's really very modest, but it's really difficult for me to find an hour or so twice a week because of childcare, but I'd be very happy to manage this!

[Roadtrip]

Was a busy week at work, so little riding for me...

Attempted to get out on the bike Wednedsay, but had a flat right in the driveway and didn't have a spare tube, plus light was seriously fading-- Winter SUCKS. Drove to the LBS to pick up extra tubes and got the flat fixed so we could ride later in the week.

Friday we went out on the new bike and I only made it a half mile before I had to stop as the pain in my wrists was unbearable and the seat was too high. I lowered the seat and continued on, but pain was still an 8/10, so cut the ride short. I took my gloves off and heal of my palms were red and had the cross-hatch pattern from my grips embedded into them. OUCH.

Still had time to drive by LBS and a they suggested a tweak to the angle of the grips and break levers. It was a SLIGHT tweak and was eager to try it out (OK-OK, I was dubious such a little change would help) so with a little light from the parking lot I set off... Wow. This feels pretty good.. zoom.. zoom.. zoom.. Ziiipppp by DH standing by the car. I finally pull up next to the with a silly grin on my face and he's asks.. enjoying yourself??

Saturday we go off to the park to give the new bike a better test run. We unload and I notice it's a tad windy. We set off and I'm feeling pretty good.. I don't have a computer on the bike yet so I didn't know how fast I was going, but it felt good and I knew I had a LOT of gears left and I slowed down and asked DH how fast we were going. 12mph. I said OK and hit the gas, right up until I hit the wind, all 18mph of it RIGHT into my face which was like climbing a hill. I pulled over with DH next to me and he said I've never had to go in that high a gear to keep up and said we were doing 17-18mph and he was almost out of gears on his 21 speed trying to keep up. I informed him I still hadn't gone into my big gear (with an evil laugh.)

We set off again and finally turned so the wind was at our side instead of head on. I yelled back at DH Threeeee.. changed gear and hit the gas again. He later said he was in his highest gear and doing 20mph and I was still pulling away. If the wind hadn't been so bad we would have stayed out longer, but I had a blast, I like my new bike!!

(I have to mention he was on a heavy bike and I was on the Trek FX 7.3 hybrid with 700c tires... he gets his FX 7.5 with carbon fork on Friday so I think my days of being able to smoke him on a bike are limited!!)

BTW: Trail was pretty much void of people or I would have NEVER gone that fast on a trail. I immediately slowed when I saw someone else on the trail.

Shannon

[hebe]

Woo hoo Shannon!

Is this the Trek with the pixellated flowers? It sounds like it was made for you I bet your dh is stupidly proud of your hard work and progress.

I haven't found a flat enough trail to do that on, but there is a multi-user pavement (=sidewalk) that is completlely empty outside of school start/finish times so I love blasting along there.

Just sending out a wave to Stella2 and hoping that she's recovering ok from her op :flowers:

[Bike Writer]

Shannon and Hebe, nice work ladies.

Boy oh boy, you must LOVE that new bike!

[Roadtrip]

Hebe:
I didn't get the new(er) bike as I couldn't find a buyer for the 2008, so I've just been riding that one as of late. If I could sell it and the LBS still has the 2009, I might be tempted to buy, outside of me selling this one I'll have to look at DH's shiny new bike while I got a used bike with scratches, etc... but I'm not bitter

BW:
Yup, I DO like my bike.. tho it did get cranky last night on the way to the grocery store.. wouldn't change down into my granny gear on a hill. I was stuck in the wrong gear or I seriously botched the gear change. Same thing happened with my other bike so I suspect user error was to blame.

Either way I ran out of gas and had to walk. It (the physical effort) also triggered a migraine, but I should have listened to my body as I felt slightly "off" even before the short ride, so I can't blame the bike!! I'd just installed my new mirror and was itching for the place where rubber meets road.

The effort of trying to muscle up a hill in the wrong gear made me feel like someone was standing on my head and caused instant nausea to where I just folded on the couch when I got back.

[Kerry1976]

Rode my first-ever 15-miler today at 11.6 mph, which was pretty good being it was somewhat windy and half the ride was in town. I've had my bike just over 1/2 a month and have put 60 miles on it.

[Roadtrip]

Thought I'd post a quick update. First, I lost 1.1 pounds last week and down 11.2 pounds in eight weeks.

Been busy lately. Took DH Friday to pick up new bike (in the rain) and it looks really, really nice!! I looked at the new old stock bike again while we were there and I've decided to just stick with my 2008 and be happy with it. It's silly.

Hit the small local trail on Saturday and did about 5 miles at a pretty slow pace trying to get us both dialed in with saddle positions and the like. It was pretty cold (lower 40's, but sunny) and my nose was cooperating leading to a little difficulty breathing when we stepped up the pace. I don't know why my nose leaks like a old faucet when the temp gets below 50. OY!!

I ended up swapping out the saddle, put on some nice Ergo-grips with bar ends, and installed a new wireless bike comp. I'm really happy with how it's feeling (after being scared silly with the 700C tires at first) now that I'm getting pretty dialed in comfort wise. I "assumed" that the big cushy seat would be MORE comfy then the road/hybrid saddle. I had serious issues with it on this bike, but I am pretty happy (looks better too) with the smaller saddle with less padding... odd, but hey.. if it works I ain't complaining!

We rode to the grocery Sunday and I changed into the wrong gear heading up the hill and killed the forward momentum I had and ended up walking the hill. Got a few things we needed and I bombed down the hill on the way back and didn't even touch the breaks until the bottom. I was FLYING and went to look at my bike computer and realized it was in my pocket. LOL. If I wasn't nearing 25-30mph I'd be surprised. I loved it too.

Shannon

The trusty steed in the trainer:

[hebe]

COngratulations on the weight loss! I have about another 7lbs to go, which hopefully will be gone by Christmas.

That bike computer thing is infuriating isn't it? My last ride I had the Garmin working ok, but the chain came off my bike and I had to walk home. The ride before was excellent, but the Garmin was in my seat pack and switched itself off.

The weather here has turned miserable, and my dh was home for a week before flying out to Berlin yesterday until the weekend. I'm hoping to get out on Wednesday if the rain stops. I ordered a bundle of clothes from minx-girl.com and it has all come, I need to exchange the jersey for a larger size but everything else looks pretty good and comfy.

[Bike Writer]

... but the chain came off my bike and I had to walk home...
.

Oh Hebe, that stinks when it happens. Happened to me twice recently, the first time a couple of bikers came along and helped me out and I was really grateful because I was a few miles out from my vehicle and I was really struggling with it, the second time I tried it myself and after a bit of a work I got it back on. It's a wee bit harder because I have a chain guard but turning the bike upside down really helps instead of being all hunched over and trying to do this we me upside down. If you put your hand behind the derailur and push it foward, it moves forward a couple of inches and gives you the necessary slack to get the job done. It is a VERY messy process but beats walking back.

[hebe]

Thank you for those tips, I'm glad it's not just me. It came off the largest cog on the rear deraillieur and got wedged under that pie plate thing at the back, so even with as much slack as I could get it wasn't coming unstuck. Wheeling it home did seem to help though, I got it sorted in the back garden.

Weather is sunny but cold tomorrow, so I'm going out in my new tights! I'm starting to worry that I'll forget how to ride if I leave it another week.