Sunday, October 15th rides

[Popoki_Nui]

One of those rides where everything seemed wrong. Dressed for rain, the sun came out. Stiff headwind. Fenders rubbed. Raincover on my right shoe got caught in the toeclip or pedal or some damn thing, and I fell at a traffic light. Yes, lots of witnesses...most laughing. I haven't had a toe-clip fall since I was 12. Bike was pure evil. (see Evil Bike thread!) Managed 33km and called it quits.

Glad it's over.

[Trek420]

Today was the official start of training rides for AIDS Lifecycle so I thought I'd go. The weather was misting over here which could mean anything from sunny to rain in San Francisco so I dressed warm and brought the mountain bike instead of the road bike.

Between the mountain bike and a new saddle I decided to do the 20 mile ride. I saw Dianne (don't know her last name) but we've seen each other on the ride, the Ride of Silence, BATO .... we decided to ride together and for the most part did. It was nice to see familiar faces. There were about 40 riders on the 20 miles, almost twice that on the 40, there was a metric century route that left earlier.

We had to punt on the route to the bridge because of a tri-athlon. One scarey moment was we crossed a street that had a huge descent for the tri-bike run.

As I waited for a clearing one of the new riders just ... went.

I heard the descending racer yell "Nooooooo".The new rider got across ok but I found out later it was his...first...ride...ever.

I crossed the road safely when it was clear and caught up him on the hill.

I believe I was patient and calm and he now knows what "yield to" "cyclists descending" at all times and especially on a "closed course" mean.

Golden Gate Bridge is everything it's cracked up to be, I think we've covered here the pros and cons of riding it.

It is beautiful. the rest of the ride went well, on the way back Dianne and I rode for and aft of newby rider till we got to the hill out of Sausalito. D said "I don't have it today", she stayed back with Newby at the top of the hill she was right behind me, new rider Green helmet guy (I must get better with names) was nowhere to be seen at that point but...he caught up with us on the bridge.

On the way back on the bridge a gal passed me and was gesturing wildly to me with thumbs up and a big smile as she looked back. I was in my AV gear. I don't think she was all happy over my form or ride style, think she recognised the AV jersey.

Was that anyone here?

[KnottedYet]

Thank you Trek for setting newby straight on how to yield.

And my, you caught him on a hill! On Bradley! You are a BABE!

[Trek420]

KnottedYet "Thank you Trek for setting newby straight on how to yield."

for a moment there his life flashed before my eyes Seriously with new riders they make some of the same mistakes drivers make like not knowing how fast bikes descend.

"And my, you caught him on a hill! On Bradley! You are a BABE!"

One of the things I like on ALC training rides is the emphasis on safety that and the non competitive atmosphere. But when at a regroup Green Helmet New Guy said something like that he liked my pace, I set a good pace that he could keep up with Awwww.

I just smiled and asked how his ride was going so far, how're you doing and we're about to get to your first real hill.

That's why i dropped him on the hill on Bradley the tank.

[xeney]

I should have paid more attention to that "century with a cold" thread, although I was only doing a metric. I do have a cold, though, and I really, really wanted to bail out after 45 miles. The only reason I didn't was that those SAG people kind of make you feel like a loser if you ask for a ride, plus my husband did the metric with me to help me out when he really wanted to do the imperial century. (He did ride a little further while I was resting, so he got 82 miles and a decent climb.) So I felt obligated to continue.

If I ever do that again I will practice my snot rockets first, because it is no fun to have to keep stopping to blow your nose. And I can't do it on a moving bike, at least not when we are going over the most rutted horrible roads I've ever ridden on.

I am also not sure it was a brilliant idea to go for a 25-mile ride on my new saddle, think, "Wow, this saddle is a lot harder than my Butterfly," and then make my next ride a 70-mile ride on the same saddle. Possibly I should have gone back to the old familiar for the long ride.

I have to say that there was really not much that was fun about the last 40 miles, but I made it, it was about 70 miles total according to my bike computer, and my cold doesn't feel any worse at the moment so maybe I will survive. And my butt survived, I don't seem to be dead, and my husband is still speaking to me, so I guess it worked out okay.

[cosc]

My dh and I had good weather, 60's for our 18 mile ride. The descent coming back was frightful though. The shimmy seemed to get worse as I got close to the bottom of the hill. There was a 20mph crosswind that might have contributed. I really felt like my headset was loose, but seemed fine when we tested it. Yesterday when I came down that hill my bike was as smooth as glass compared to today. I'm so glad you girls are here for the good and the whiny times.

[pooks]

Today's ride was so short I ought to be embarrassed to mention it, but we road 2 miles in the rain and it was wonderful! I loved riding in the warm rain. Wish we could have gone farther but we were pushing it to take time to ride at all.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Today's ride was so short I ought to be embarrassed to mention it, but we road 2 miles in the rain and it was wonderful! I loved riding in the warm rain. Wish we could have gone farther but we were pushing it to take time to ride at all.

Yeah well I got you beat Pookster- I rode ONE mile today! Into town for Sunday breakfast and back. I REALLY wanted to go for a 12 mile ride I love, but I had some job deadlines that I simply could no longer put off, so right after breakfast I had to peddle home and WORK all day.

[Crankin]

Denise G. and I rode today; 20.1 miles on some country roads and a few suburban traffic type roads. It's getting cooler here and it's hard to know how to dress. It's not cold enough for super winter gear, but I find it very hard to gauge it correctly. I think I'm getting used to riding in cool weather, because I was able to wear regular gloves and no head covering at 53 degrees.
So, a nice, social ride from Concord to West Acton and back. The foliage sure is nice, but very soon all of those leaves will be on the ground, making it trecherous for cyclists.

Yes, this was listed under Oct. 14th. No, I did not ride twice.