November 11 Rides

[Crankin]

I did 2 rides today. First, I went to the bike shop at around 9, which is about 4.5 miles. It was 42 when I left and I was dressed on the edge of too much, but not too hot (fleece shirt and wind jacket, tights over shorts, toe warmers and my heavier wool socks. Oh, and my skullcap). I am continuing to have crotch pain, so I was basically going there to see what the heck I can do, after buying 2 saddles since buying my bike in June. He ended up putting a shim on my left shoe, under the cleat, since my left leg is shorter than the right. My "uneven" body has actually bent my Brooks saddle to the left. The lbs owner, who I really like was not particularly thrilled with the fact i had a Brooks saddle and he thinks I should go back and try the Terry one I bought. Well, I do feel better riding now and I'm not rocking so much because my legs are even on the pedals. The ride back was getting warm, so I tied my jacket around my waist and unzipped my shirt. Concord Center was overrun with people going to see the exhibit of "Eyes Wide Open," showing the empty boots of service people from New England killed in Iraq. I stopped to see it, and went home. Then, at about 1:30 I went on a 19 mile ride with my husband. I had changed into a regular long sleeved jersey, but that felt too cold, so i put my Craft base layer on under it. After about 6 miles, I was boiling, but there was not much I could do, except push up my sleeves. When we got home, the temperature had gone from 58 when we left to 62.7. It was a good ride, pretty hilly, so my average was only 14.8.

[Offthegrid]

I rode 30.8 miles, but on a bike path. Practiced some starting and stopping and didn't fall over, so that was good. My legs felt good at the time, but now they are killing me, so I definitely overdid it. Oh, well. What else can you do when it's November, sunny and 60 degrees?

[suzieqtwa]

I rode 27 miles this morning. It rained a bit but then cleared up. It was about 40 degrees out.

[kelownagirl]

Finally got out on a bike today - been off it for two weeks - ack! It was fairly chilly and I haven't quite figured out what to wear yet (5 degrees cel.) Found that my toes were very cold at the end of 40 km and my knees were a bit achey - wonder if that's from the cold? I wore cycling shorts under tights. Maybe I should wear my knee warmers under the tights too? Also, had a lot of trouble with breathing so I'd love to hear from anyone who has EI asthma and rides in the cold. I'm heading over the the health thread to post there... Anyway, it was GREAT to be out riding again. May be the last road bike trip this year though....

[Kalidurga]

Nice freak warm day in the mid-Atlantic, sunny in the a.m. then turning overcast in the afternoon as a prelude to the rain that we're supposed to get tonight. Perfect day for me to take advantage of having a 'cross bike by doing a mixed suface loop on the C&O Canal towpath (dirt, gravel, mud, roots & rocks) and the Western Maryland Rail-Trail (butter-smooth pavement)

Hopped onto the towpath in Hancock, MD, and headed upstream along the Potomac River. Since all the leaves have fallen, the river and West Virginia on the other shore are continuously visible next to the towpath, making for some great scenery. A few miles in I noticed that something was funky with my cadence sensor, because I kept glancing down and seeing my cadence go from 83 to 167 to 90... My high cadence for the day was 195rpm (Top that, Lance!)! After some fiddling I got it working correctly, but unfortunately I know that my average for today isn't as good as the computer says it is.

12 miles up, at Pearree, is where I cut over to the WMRT to head back on pavement. Considering how full the parking lots were in Hancock, I expected crowds on the rail-trail and I was certainly not disappointed in that In spite of everyone and all their kids, I was able to go for 2-3 mile stretches pretty much by myself, so I made the trip back to Hancock a series of intervals by revving up to 95-110rpm/15-20mph and maintaining it until I caught up with the next group or road crossing. Only had to stop once, for a woman and her little girl who were taking a break and left their bikes standing perpendicularly across the trail. Again,

Rolled back into Hancock with a total of 24.25 miles and a totally satisfied feeling.

[Fredwina]

i was supposed to be a rolling ride Marshall for a 34 mile ride. The problem I had was that I'm supposed to do a century next Saturday, and didn't think 34 was enough prep. So rolled out of bed early and got an extra 30 in. Ironically the only flats I changed were on my own bike. At least I have new tube for the Tour De Tuscon It was a gorgeous day, and the Santa Anas were not that bad.

[paigette]

Sigh...only 4.99 on my MTB; before I got a flat. Co-workers & I could NOT get the tube to fill (which we felt ashamed of), so we hitched a ride with a nice man named T.BO.... But he had his kid with him & I figured most serial killers do not travel with kids.

Tire is now fixed(with SLIME) and hopefully I will go out with the local MBA tomorrow!