Sunday, 12/17 ride...

[7rider]

I met at the LBS with several other local TE'ers and we did a nice loop through D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, out to Garret Park. Was a beautiful day - cool, but not freezing, and warmed up to darn blamy. Tomorrow should be even warmer - although seeing my daffodils poking their heads above the soil is making me nervous.
Got in 29.5 miles in 1:56:00, for an average of 15.2 mph - roughtly 1,000 ft. of climbing. And....shock of all shocks...my herniated disc in my neck did not cause me great pain after the ride. Yay! Traction seems to be working!

[Kalidurga]

Ooooh, traction... I like the sound of that. My neck and shoulders are a bit stiff this evening. Glad yours are doing ok, Regina!

I also got out and rode today. Definitely couldn't resist a temperature forecast in the 60's, so I headed down to Purcellville, VA, and rode the W&OD rail-trail down past Leesburg to Goose Creek, then back to Purcellville for a total of almost 29.75 miles in 2 hrs 10 minutes. I love that stretch of the W&OD since it goes through the rolling farmland of Loudoun County (which is becoming increasingly developed ). The trail runs the gamut from short, curvy, steep hills to long, 2-5% grades, with very little of it actually flat. My average ended up at 13.6mph, due to lots of road crossings and pedestrians on the trail, as well as a couple of those hills that had me cussing along at 7-10mph. On the downslopes and flat sections, though, I was smokin' (max speed= 24mph).

Hmmm... I could have almost kept up with you guys today

[makbike]

I decided not to let this day pass without a ride. It was 67 F when I left the house. I quickly shed the jacket for it was too warm. The first half of my 30 mile ride was great, legs felt strong and I was humming along enjoying the sights. I was treated to 7 white tail deer does bouncing across the road ahead of me. The last one in the group stopped to look at me and gave me "what are you doing out here in our neck of the woods" look and then she rejoined her friends as they made their way across an open field. Next, I was taken back by the very large flock of starlings which was flying about. For a moment I felt like I was entering a scence from "The Birds". As I flew up on the group they split into two groups and took off in opposite directions - I parted the flock nothing I'm sure like parting the Red Sea but it did give me a rush of power if only for a moment. At the 15 mile mark I turned and was hit with a very strong headwind which became my enemy for the rest of the ride. I finished with an average speed of 15 mph. I was really hoping for yet another strong day but it was not to be. I was so tired when I got home I climbed into bed and took a 2 hour nap! Tomorrow is suppose to be our last day of warm weather so hopefully I will get one last road ride in for the year.

[Popoki_Nui]

An unexpectedly nice day here, given the meteorological mayhem of the last six weeks. Sunny and cool, but nice for riding. Most of the debris had been cleared off the trails, and shovelled off the shoulders of the roads, so I didn't have to duck and weave. Fifty-five pleasant kilometers from downtown Victoria to Sidney and back.

Got home near sunset to the sound of sirens, and this jolly fellow touring the rural district where I live, giving treats to all the kids (it's an annual thing our local volunteer fire department does, but I'd forgotten it was today. Nice surprise! )
(edit OT: the MVFD were the first responders to MIL's stroke; I can't say enough about these amazing volunteers. And even better, they have the highest percentage of women of any fire department in the region )

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It was 45-50 degrees today and cloudy and breezy. DH and I rode our 2 Rambouillets (mine blue, his green) through "the 5 Chathams"...rural hamlets near where we live: Chatham, Old Chatham, Chatham Center, North Chatham, East Chatham. Plus a few other villages along the way. Lots of rolling hills, 28 miles. I know I'll be growing new leg muscles molecules as I sleep tonight!
At one point we had to stop because there were some horses that had gotten loose wandering dangerously right on the main road. We stopped at a farmhouse to report them loose, but then we saw humans trotting up the road on foot with ropes to collect them, so we were able to continue knowing they would be safe. Stopped at a friend's for tea on the way home.
All in all a great day for riding.

[Crankin]

15.75 miles, doing my usual loop. My goal was to do 43 to reach 3,000 for the year, but my son and his girlfriend were here and we didn't get out until
2:15 and we had to be somewhere at 4. It was 52 out, but it didn't seem that warm when we left (clouds and wind). By 6 miles, I was stripping layers off. My poor husband was dragging and I had no desire to push after a very hard ride yesterday. Looking at the extended forecast, I think I still have a window to get in my last few miles on next Sunday and Monday.
Right now I am recovering from eating latkes 3 nights in a row!

[mimitabby]

Took Eden's Fuji out again for a brief spin. Discovered that my feet are too big for this bike, the toe overlap is serious and i have to be very careful. Eden is a gal with little feet, I am a gal with BIG feet.
It was cold, but the icy spots were melted so i was able to get some good climbing on the hills in the neighborhood, wishing all the while that parking was not allowed on our main arterial. Seen on the road frequently today; roofing tiles. (Seattle windstorm on 14th of December )

[Meaux]

I did the Jingle Bell ride our LBS does every year. It was a slow 10 mile ride through one of Houston's fanciest neighborhoods and it was humid as all get out, but it was lots of fun to get out there with other cyclists and just ride for the heck of it. We got there late and they had already left, so DH and I had to haul it to catch up (it was dusk and there were cars EVERYWHERE!!). Once we caught up we had a police escort and got to look at all the pretty lights and got free food from a local burrito place. I did learn a VERY valuable lesson, however. NEVER eat a HUGE burrito and then ride. No matter how short the ride is. In any case, it was probably the most fun I've had on a bike in a good long time.

[HillSlugger]

I met at the LBS with several other local TE'ers and we did a nice loop through D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, out to Garret Park. Was a beautiful day - cool, but not freezing, and warmed up to darn balmy.

It's hard to believe it's mid December and temps up to 60! I was freezing as we waited in the parking lot to head out but I ended up dress exactly right.

4 TE'ers and one of aicabsolut's teammates. I pushed myself fairly hard to keep up. They pulled away from me on the loop hill but I was able to hang with them most of the rest of the ride.

It's always nice to ride with other TE'ers. Thanks ladies.

[suzieqtwa]

I think Im sending a picture outside my deck today.....Ive been having trouble sending things.
Anyway, I rode 27 miles in 25 degree weather today...burrrrr

[Geonz]

That's a "thermometer challenge ride" on bikejournal (conceived of by "HOward" in an effort to catch me; he's now >100 miles behind again, though of course a century would pretty much swallow that!!).

Rode to church and then out to the time trial, which I "won" - managed to be 20 seconds faster than the other woman who did it. Hoping she will ride with me next time (we can do it in pairs on the computer; I was up against a guy much faster than me, and she prob'ly was, too, tho' a fair number of them were slower than us :-)).

The prize is braggin' rights and free admission to the next one. Goal: take off 20 secons and 5 pounds. (I *am* 5 pounds lighter than last year's though )

[margo49]

Cold for here, so I put on my merino singlet (underwear vest??) and my wind-breaker (Earth Sea Sky) parka. My t^t was nearly freezing off but it warmed up after a few minutes. (Good thing sometimes to be a mono-tit!). Took the Low Road round The River which disturbed the coots but they made me laugh. Too cold for them to really get in the mood to fly away so they just flapped and splashed their way acrosss the river. No good tracks on the Border but found a nice new (to me) look-out spot to view the whole Valley to the south and wonder why there are "countries" and "borders". There was a sculpture garden up there too - very weird but interesting little rocks balanced on each other and put together with those reinforcing rods they use in construction. Then back through date groves and a banana plantation to an avocado grove where they were picking. Breathed in homeopathic doses of cholestrol-reducing bio-chemistry till I got to the spot above the river where I could see "home". Then round the River on the East Bank to see the little new date grove but it had had all died. Back home to a Cliff bar sent by my ss (carrot cake flavour with a decided hint of cloves and white chocolate bits) and a banana-blueberry-carob smoothie.

[IFjane]

I had an awesome ride yesterday - 70 degrees down in VA with calm wind and high clouds. Rode with two biking buddies & did an out-and-back to the top of a local mountain. 27 miles total and lots of fun. Amazing to be out on the bike on Dec. 17 with short sleeves. Had a light jacket that stayed tucked in my pocket the entire time. I even broke a sweat climbing!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Anyway, I rode 27 miles in 25 degree weather today...burrrrr

Man, I'm impressed!!!!

[bcipam]

Saturday I had planned to ride but weather kept me from getting on the bike. Rain was dropping here and there and that evening we got a light storm.

Sunday dawned clear (with some over head clouds) but very cold. I had Christmas cards to finish up so I stayed in and about 10a called my buddy to see if he wanted to ride. He wanted to as well so we loaded up the car and drove out to the Yorba Linda and parked in Bryant Ranch in order to ride the Santa Ana River Trail (SART) down to Angel's Stadium and back (about 30 miles).

The morning was very cold and the day wasn't suppose to get much above 50 so I looked in my closet for some warm clothing. I have long sleeve tops so that wasn't a problem but I neede something for my legs. I hate leg warmers. I have one pair of tights but haven't worn them in years. I put them on and they seemed to fit and out the door I went.

The ride was wonderful. It started out cold but we warmed up nicely. The north end of SART is very beautiful. Green River, which connects to the Santa Ana River, was flowing fairly well due to the rain. The trees and bushes are all turning color and the geese an currently migrating so we saw lots of Canadians end and there.

Although SART is very flat, I just haven't been riding all that much. I have really gotten out of shape and even the 30 miles we did was a push for me. I just so enjoyed being out however. On the way back, once we hit Bryant Ranch I was stung by an unusal site. A orange grove in Orange County! I thought they no longer existed, like dinosaurs! Had to take a photo - here's my buddy Richard and see the oranges behind? Richard took a photo of me but I looked old and fat in it so I posted him instead. I did have to laugh. The last time I wore the cycling tights was maybe 3 years ago. As fat as I still am, I have lost alot of weight especially in my behind. Check out the diaper butt I have going on. No wonder the chamois felt weird! I guess it's a good thing...



The geese...


What's up with the droopy drawers??????