Saturday, Sept. 9th rides

[im4smiley]

Hi Easterbird, Congratulations on your First Century. That is great. I understand how you feel about your SO. My hubby seemed very less than interested, I was so excited and wanted to tell him all about it but...it didn't happen, however my 20 year old daughter called and asked me how it went, so that made feel good, I told her all about it.

[Bad JuJu]

Congrats, Easterbird! It's so exciting to have completed a major ride like that.

My DH is only now getting a tiny bit interested in hearing about my cycling adventures--after I've been cycling on and off for several years now. So hang in there, and remember you've always got these rockin' forums where you can share your excitement.

I used to ride in northern NJ--up in the Great Swamp area--some really pretty roads out there, horse farms, etc.

[easterbird]

our ride was all around the Great Swamp area ,out to near Flemington and back! It was so much more pastoral than I expected. I loved the scenery..... which was good since I rode most of the ride by myself to keep a comfortable pace. I will try to hang in there w SO attitude and curb my tongue but why is that so much tougher than doing 100 miles?

[HillSlugger]

No, I didn't ride the century...

This ride was sponsored by the Baltimore Bicycle club and was my second "Event" ride. The Diabetes ride in June was highly organized, with firm start times, etc. In contrast, yesterday's ride was loosely organized. It was basically, show up, check in, and head out whenever you feel like it. So, which is more typical of event rides? Anyhow, this was my second road ride on the new bike and it felt great.

The day started foggy and cool. The fog lifted about 5 miles into the ride, but it remained hazy throughout the morning. On the first big downhill my cue sheet blew away and I had to rely upon the road markings. Thankfully, they were quite good. However, there was a stretch of several miles where there wasn't a single other rider in sight, and no road markings. Then, I couldn't remember what mile the rest stop was at. I started to worry that I was off course. I really hate it when I get a bit panicky and can't ride relaxed.

I did the 25 miles in 1'38", an average of 15.2 mph, the fastest ride I've ever done. Some of this may be due to the new bike, but I think it's mostly due to the moderate hills. It was a nice route that went through 3 of the last 5 covered bridges in Maryland.

A funny event early in the ride: I was riding along with three guys, leapfrogging back and forth with them for a few miles. DP and DS would ride ahead of us and then stop and take photos as we passed and then take off to set up again. One of the guys said "Hey look at that, they keep taking pictures of us!" I casually said "They're following me." They seemed quite disappointed.

Showing off my Hill Slug socks (DS in background):


Riding with the boys:


Cruising along:


The last covered bridge:

[uk elephant]

Got off to a late start on Saturday due to a lazy morning so I didn't go as far as I had intended, although the village I had set as my goal turned out to be further away than I had guesstimated. Still managed to do a 35 mile ride including a few steep, but short hills along rolling hills and winding country lanes in glorious sunshine. I should start taking my camera along on rides, but I always forget to take pictures. I'm too busy pedalling away and enjoying the scenery.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

GREAT pictures, HillSlug! Thanks for sharing them.

[HillSlugger]

GREAT pictures, HillSlug! Thanks for sharing them.

It's great having a personal photographer (or two) following on a ride

[Kalidurga]

In light of your recent post about family issues and bike obsession, Nicole, it's great that DP and DS went on the ride with you to undertake photog duty. It looks and sounds like you had a lot of fun, in spite of that little bit of panic!

[Cassandra_Cain]

It's great having a personal photographer (or two) following on a ride

No kidding! How many times have I thought 'oh if only I could get a picture of this...'

[HillSlugger]

No kidding! How many times have I thought 'oh if only I could get a picture of this...'

Does anyone know of a camera mount that can be clamped or strapped to the handlebars, or have their own homegrown system, for bringing along a camera on a ride?