July 26 Rides

[im4smiley]

I decided this morning I would try to do my 50 mile trip goal. I wanted to get up early but slept till 7 am, however, I was out the door by 7:45. I decided on a pretty flat route and told myself not to push too hard, I was afraid I would get too tired and then have to cut my route short. I went through many towns, Turners Falls, Montague, Sunderland, South Deerfield, Hatfield, Northampton and Greenfield. It was about 75 degrees and I had 2 water bottles, one with water and one with a drink mix I hadn't tried before. Well I should have tried it out because I don't think I mixed it right and it didn't taste too good. Of course when I started on that bottle my water was gone. I forced myself to drink the "yucky" stuff because I knew I should drink something. When I got to the 30 mile mark I was feeling kind of tired so I stopped and stretched a bit and had a GU. About the 40 mile mark I stopped at my LBS and got some water so I could continue on. I made my goal, I did 50.2 miles. I am soo happy.

[SandyLS]

"I made my goal, I did 50.2 miles. I am soo happy"

Congratulations, Smiley. nice job on reaching your goal! Keep up the good work.

[tulip]

Congratulations, Smiley! 50 miles, wow! On a school day, no less!

My evening commute took me to another destination, as I teach a class at a local university after work once per week, and tonight was the last night and the students presented their projects. It was very nice to see how much progress they have made (adult students, changing careers). I usually Metro on class days, but today I rode my bike. I had to Metro home with the bike since it got dark on me, and I haven't put my headlight on yet. This weekend I will.

[emily_in_nc]

~10+ miles of double track with a friend - my inaugural ride on my Titus Racer-X (which I need a computer on and soon!) Oh man, she is a wonderful bike. The full suspension was a dream, the shifting was amazing, and I was completely comfortable the entire time. The trails snaked through the prettiest shady woods, keeping the heat at bay, and I just couldn't get enough of the scenery or the ride. My best mountain bike ride to date!

Emily

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey DDH, what a great thing that you did 10 miles ALREADY!
My tops is still 20 miles after one month of riding.
Smiley- I can't WAIT to do a fifty miler!!!! Good for YOU. You must be so proud, and rightly so.

My wonderful husband and I are scheduled to drive about 3 hours to the Boston area to go pick up my VERY OWN bike finally on THIS SATURDAY!!!! My bike is READY and WAITING there for me!!!!

Oh my gosh.....too exciting.....

[GLC1968]

I rode my very first commute last night! I have been mapping and re-mapping routes since I first bought a road bike last summer and yesterday I finally took the plunge and did it. It was AWESOME! The route is plenty hilly with a mix of industrial, city and residential riding and ended up being 14 miles long. The temps were only in the high 80's and the sun was behind the trees by the time I headed out so it was a very pleasant ride. I got caught by too many traffic lights for my taste, but cycling next to a big ole airplane was awesome! My route takes me by the airport and there was a big plane (a 727 perhaps?) parked on the edge of a field near the road. Damn those things are HUGE!

I've been loving riding at lunch or in the evenings and doing long rides on the weekends, but now I think I'm also hooked on commuting.